A statement, intended to settle a controversy surrounding the signing of a long-term contract for the public port of Port-au-Prince, is now triggering a new one
Two representatives from Caribbean Port Services (CPS), Philippe Coles and Édouard Baussan, met last Monday with seven members of the Transitional Presidential Council (CPT) to discuss a controversial contract signed at the end of 2023 between the director of the National Port Authority (APN) and CPS, regarding the management of the public port in the capital.
This contract, criticized by several experts for its exceptionally long duration and apparent violations of legal procedures, reinforces CPS’s dominant position over the country’s main international public port — potentially until 2059.
More than a week after this high-level meeting within the CPT, the presidential communications office issued a statement claiming the contract had been signed « under legal and proper conditions » and that « all necessary clarification has been provided regarding the matter. »
For this article, AyiboPost spoke with sources close to the Presidential Council, two former Ministers of Justice, and specialists in port-related matters.
According to a source familiar with the process, several presidential advisors — including Emmanuel Vertilaire and Edgard Leblanc — contributed to drafting the statement issued by the presidency’s communications office. Neither could be reached before publication.
No legal unit was officially mandated by the CPT to provide an opinion before the statement was released.
The text was sent to the communications office for distribution. The office initially refused to publish it, arguing that any external communication must be approved by the President of the Council, Fritz Alphonse Jean.
Read also : CPS secures controversial contract for the public port of Port-au-Prince
At that point, threats of dismissal were reportedly made against staff in the communications office, according to a public statement by Jean. He said he does not recognize the CPT’s « authority to issue such an opinion » and called for intervention from the Court of Auditors and Administrative Disputes (CSCCA).
“This is a case of the state being held hostage,” said a source close to the CPT. According to them, the private sector exerts significant control over public administration. “At the presidential and prime ministerial levels: anything goes,” they added.
Far from settling the controversy over the contract signed between Jocelin Villier, the Director General of APN, and CPS, the presidential statement has sparked a second debate: does the CPT, a transitional governing body, have the authority to rule on the legality of a public contract?
“The CSCCA must verify the legality of the contract. That’s natural and normal,” said Camille Leblanc, attorney and former Minister of Justice and Public Security, in an interview with AyiboPost.
As the country’s top administrative body, the CSCCA can determine, according to him, whether all required authorizations are included in the contract and whether its duration complies with legal limits.
Previously interviewed by AyiboPost, APN Director General Jocelin Villier — whose signature appears on the contract — said it was signed in compliance with the law in 2023.
In principle, APN’s board of directors must approve any lease agreement. That was the case for a previous contract signed with CPS in 2015, according to a document reviewed by AyiboPost.
But according to Villier, the board’s opinion was not required in 2023, as he claims it was merely a renewal.
Legal experts dispute this view. Villier, who holds a master’s degree in project management, served as APN’s head of security from 2011 until his appointment as Director General at the end of July 2023.
For attorney Camille Leblanc, the APN director signs contracts “with and after the authorization of the President of its Board of Directors.”
If the contract is valid, the concern lies in its length, said the lawyer, who urged authorities to find a solution.
“A 27-year duration can be seen as excessive, especially in a transitional context,” added Leblanc. “But when you ask the private sector to invest, you have to offer them a reasonable period to recover their investment.”
Another former Justice Minister and attorney is more critical: “The Court of Auditors must determine whether both contracts — the one expiring this year and the one signed in 2023 — were executed according to the rules. If not, this contract is invalid.”
“Logically, such a contract must be validated by the APN’s board of directors, and the CSCCA must issue a favorable opinion,” he continued. “I don’t understand how such a contract could have been signed,” he said, also denouncing “indecent” termination clauses.
Although the public port of Port-au-Prince remains state-owned through the APN, CPS holds lease agreements granting it extensive rights over the port infrastructure.
Founded in 2015, this private company emerged from the merger of several former port operators, with the goal of streamlining operations.
This model gives CPS a central role in the country’s maritime supply chain, especially since the vast majority of consumer goods in Haiti are imported.
In practice, up to 80% of containers passed through CPS at certain times (according to 2017 data), in a context where Haiti has the highest maritime costs in the region.
Since July 2016, CPS has been paying the Haitian state fifteen US dollars per twenty-foot container, according to documents obtained by AyiboPost.
Critics say this amount is extremely low compared to the company’s potential profits and accuse it of maintaining a harmful near-monopoly on the public port. (CPS, for its part, claims it complies with the law.)
Haiti imports around 100,000 containers per year — a number that has likely dropped significantly due to the security situation, according to several sector actors.
Container fees vary depending on several factors, including state taxes and shipping line fees.
But to illustrate, several invoices reviewed by AyiboPost show amounts of several hundred US dollars per twenty-foot container charged to importers by CPS. Depending on the container type, these costs can even approach $1,000, according to business owners.
“There’s no fair competition when CPS uses state infrastructure for such a low fee while its competitors had to invest heavily to build their own,” lamented a source involved in port operations.
AyiboPost attempted to reach Philippe Coles, CPS CEO. He did not respond.
Haiti is among the world’s least transparent and most corrupt countries. The vast majority of public contracts remain inaccessible to the population, and many are signed irregularly, according to experts who also highlight other problematic contracts in the port sector.
A 2024 World Bank report states that Haiti’s port costs are the highest in the region, which increases the cost of Haitian exports and imported inputs.
According to the report, exporting through Haitian ports costs 15% more than in neighboring Dominican Republic; importing costs 35% more — and in both cases, the procedures take an additional two to three weeks.
The controversy over certain contracts signed with the Haitian state follows a letter from the President of the Transitional Council to the Prime Minister and businessman, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé. It continues on the eve of Laurent Saint-Cyr’s rise to the head of the CPT — a promotion that confirms the private sector’s control over the key positions of the transition.
A non-public opinion, written for a government authority, raises several concerns about the controversial CPS contract, including the absence of a public tender and the lack of a required visa from the Court of Auditors, which is mandatory for any agreement involving public property.
“These elements point to a management approach that favors the interests of a single operator — in this case, CPS — at the expense of a national port policy based on transparency, fair competition, and openness to other investments,” concludes the opinion obtained by AyiboPost.
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