DefendHT:

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (defend.ht) – Prime Minister Garry Conille rejected the accusations of former First Lady Mirlande Manigat who said that the Haitian government moved the 2012 Carnival to Les Cayes as part of a “vast money-laundering” scheme.

The Office of Communications for the Prime Minister said Conille was shocked to hear the accusations of Mrs. Manigat which according to the Head of Government are “baseless”.

In a press note, the prime minister’s office “vehemently” rejects the allegations that the government would be involved in such practices. Conille’s office says these accusations were made to demean the government and break all the efforts of the new government to provide another image of Haiti.

The note reads that Mirlande H. Manigat is trying to have a boycott of the “beautiful gesture” and promotion of the South department, which hold artistic and landscaping treasures.

The note continues to say that it is “incredible” that a former candidate for the highest seat in the country would speak against decentralization with actions that are in “poor taste”.

The Prime Minister’s Office says the gesture of holding the Carnival in Les Cayes was to give value to the provincial areas of the country and boost culture and tourism throughout the country. The Carnival in Haiti is very popular and is a great forum to expose the beauty of the country, the note concluded.

Over the past weekend the former First Lady was heard on a radio station in capital making the accusations saying: