PJ to head Haiti committee

Former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson has accepted an invitation to be CARICOM's representative on a coordinating committee established to organise an international conference to flesh out a strategic plan for Haiti's reconstruction.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding told the House of Representatives that Monday's meeting in Santo Domingo focused primarily on the challenges for Haiti's recovery and rebuilding, where he was asked to invite Patterson.

Consulted with heads

The prime minister disclosed that he consulted with chairman of CARICOM, Roosevelt Skerrit; Trinidad and Tobago's Patrick Manning; Barbados' David Thompson and Hubert Ingraham of The Bahamas to select a suitable CARICOM representative on the committee.

Golding said the committee would comprise representatives of Haiti, Dominican Republic, United States, the Rio Group and the Inter-American Development Bank.

He revealed that the committee would be convening its first meeting in Montreal, Canada, next Monday.

The prime minister disclosed that 56 Jamaicans have so far returned home from Haiti, but did not state how many remained in the earthquake-wrecked state.