PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) — Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille promised Friday that 2012 would be a year of reconstruction and economic recovery in Haiti with a growth rate of eight per cent.

He made the pledge only days before Haitians mark the second anniversary of the earthquake that killed more than 200,000 of their people.

“2012 will be a year of opportunities and challenges in which the government will launch the construction of some 20 buildings to relocate public administration and hundreds of thousands of people still living in tents,” said Conille during a press conference.

However, he conditioned the success of the projects on the “ability of (his) government to mobilise the necessary resources and on the capacity of Haitians to work together”.

The opposition-dominated parliament is in conflict with President Michel Martelly, whose power was weakened by the brief arrest in October of Deputy Arnel Belizaire. Police arrested Belizaire for allegedly breaking out of prison and for illegal possession of a firearm.

Two years after the earthquake of January 12, 2010, debris still litter the streets of the capital Port-au-Prince and other regions affected by the disaster. Meanwhile, the government has launched a programme encouraging displaced persons to return to their neighbourhoods.

The prime minister also said he wishes the Haitian Parliament would renew the mandate of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC), co-chaired by former US President Bill Clinton.

Conille called the commission a “useful platform” for getting international aid but he also said its efforts should be better coordinated.