(2018-02) Decree Regulating Vehicle Rental Within the Public Administration
Summary — Signed by Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant (Primature, 22 February 2018) and published in Le Moniteur (N°37), this arrêté regulates vehicle rental across the Haitian public administration, implementing the 'train de vie de l'État' austerity arrêté of 29 March 2017 by restricting rental to specific justified motives and subjecting contracts to CSCCA and financial-controller review.
Key Findings
- Vehicle rental is restricted to three specific motives; any other use is prohibited.
- Rentals exceeding one month require a CSCCA-visaed contract; all rentals require a prior financial-controller visa.
- Repair and maintenance costs of rented vehicles may never be charged to a public institution's budget.
- State officials may not use rental vehicles as personal function vehicles, with a narrow one-month breakdown exception.
- Contract renewal with the same rental firm is never automatic.
Full Description
Grounded in the 2005 decree on general public accounting rules and the 2017 'train de vie de l'État' arrêté, this text authorizes vehicle rental only for three motives: a project whose budget provides for it, transporting foreign delegations, or short missions in areas without an available institutional vehicle. Any rental exceeding one month requires a contract visaed by the Cour Supérieure des Comptes et du Contentieux Administratif (CSCCA), and every rental requires prior visa from the Budget Directorate's financial controller; renewal of short-term contracts with the same firm is not automatic and must be resubmitted for visa. Rented vehicles must be properly registered to a legally operating local firm, priced at market rates via a three-quote comparison, and covered by insurance beyond mandatory OAVCT coverage. It is formally forbidden to charge repair or maintenance costs of rented vehicles to an institution's budget, to use rental vehicles as personal 'fonction' vehicles for state officials (except brief breakdowns of up to one month), or to rent vehicles for anyone with no institutional link. Any exception requires the Prime Minister's express written authorization.