⚠️ President Santokhi announces measures to control prices

Happy Monday!

This week we cover President Santokhi's package of measures meant to help control prices, the Suri-change money laundering scandal in the Netherlands, the newly proposed electoral system, and updates on the Bouterse trial

The government’s announced package of price control measures

• While official measures are yet to be publicized, President Chan Santokhi announced measures this week to control the exchange rate until December 31, 2023.

• Police and judicial authorities will crack down on illegal foreign currency trading and unlicensed money exchange offices (cambios).

• Fiscal measures were also announced, including strengthening the leadership of the Central Bank of Suriname (CBvS) to tighten monetary policy, capping credit growth of banks by adjusting the SRD cash reserve.

• The list of ‘basic goods' will be expanded to 40, which will also include local products. The applicable profit margin for basic goods will be reduced to 15% nationwide.

• The sale of foreign currency for import of goods and services will only be permitted on the basis of an original underlying document. Foreign currency sales transactions related to travel are only allowed with an underlying travel document and visa (if applicable). Sales transactions for obligations abroad are only permitted with an underlying document demonstrating the need and relationship of the recipient abroad.

• Exporters must sell proceeds from foreign sales to the foreign exchange banks or cambios that are supervised by CBvS.

• Notably, there is no mention of overhauling the gold and wood industries in Suriname where much of the revenue (and taxes) go unaccounted for. Political opponents suspect this lack of action due to the vice president having significant holdings in gold and many of the presidents top donors having significant interests in wood and gold.

• Members of parliament have mentioned that society is in SOS mode while others have stated that the restrictive measures can lead to an increasing black market for currency. While others have questioned if there is genuinely free market operation when it comes to the exchange rate without government intervention as reported to the IMF.

• The government received criticism from its party as well as its opponents as top party officials don't agree with these measures as it doesn't "align with party principles."

Suri-change exchange offices have been raided by the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM).

• The Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) has alleged that Suri-Change exchange offices have engaged in money laundering and that millions of euros of cocaine trade have passed through the exchange’s offices.

• The headquarters of the exchange in Rotterdam was raided by the Dutch police leading to the arrest of five men.

• The owner of the exchange and his two sons were ahead, of which the eldest son is believed to be the main suspect in a criminal financial network that operates in the Netherlands, Suriname, and Slovakia.

The news has impacted Surinamese politics making it to the Surinamese parliament

The news has bled into Surinamese politics as several people close to the president have been implicated in the exchange’s involvement. As a consequence, Surinamese President Chan Santokhi faced questions in parliament over the President’s involvement.

• Furthermore, Surinamese parliamentary members have also expressed concerns over the potential impact on Surichange Bank and its market share in Suriname and asked for information on the alleged connections.

• President Santokhi responded to questions by stating that the parliament is there to represent state matters, rather than answering personal issues, sidestepping questions of investigations into people in his inner circle.

• Parliament members have urged transparency and clarification on the involvement of government individuals in the bank’s affairs, and have raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest. Parliament members were urged to approach the situation with care and professionalism to avoid any damage to Suriname’s reputation and its financial institutions.

2 options for new electoral system after consultation with political parties experts

Option A:

• Option A concerns only changing the Dialing Regulation.

• The change is made to the Electoral Regulation and not necessarily the electoral system.

• The proposed change is to round up seats with a value higher than 0.5 and round down seats with a value less than 0.5.

• The proposed seat distribution will allocate one seat to each district and some districts will lose or gain seats.

• The principle of proportionality within the established constituencies is maintained.

Option B:

• Option B completely overhauls the current system.

• Option B means that 51 DNA members are elected on two levels:

  • Per district: 10 seats (for each district 1) based on majority rule per district.

  • National: 41 seats based on the national proportionality system.

The public will continue to wait for a conclusion to the Bouterse court case.

• Counsel for Desi Bouterse, Irvin Kanhai, has argued that the resistance case has been ignored and the court-martial has continued to repeat a story of murderous soldiers and innocent victims. He has asked the Court of Justice to bring the trial to an end and acquit the accused.

• The Public Prosecution Service has demanded 20 years in prison against Bouterse and immediate imprisonment upon conviction.

• The defense believes that the evidence listed by the Public Prosecution Service is often internally contradictory and no evidence has been found that supports the indictment of premeditation.

• Kanhai addressed various pieces of evidence that were put forward and indicated that incorrect conclusions were drawn.

• Kanhai seems to threaten that a sloppy, incorrect judgment will have disastrous consequences for the Surinamese state and society, which must be avoided with great determination.

• The next hearing will take place on May 30th, 2023.