Suriname tackles corruption

as the search for VP Ronnie Brunswijk's close friend Bordo rumbles on

Happy Monday!

In a week where there seemed to be not a lot of news and revolved around the world cup; there emerged allegations of corruption at the Ministry of Economic Affairs as the government attempts to lower the economic burden of government employees. 

Corruption at the Ministry of Economic Affairs 

Each ministry receives a monthly KO (stands for krediet opening, currently SRD 200,000 per month) which is intended for, for example, the monthly needs of the ministry, such as ink, paper, fuel, etc. The problem is that Kuldipsingh has effectively removed the established internal institutions to which the cashier and the internal control department belong. Everything happens outside the field of vision of these institutions. The monthly amount of SRD 200,000 is received by the cashier and transferred directly to the deputy director of administrative services (ODAD). This, on compulsive instruction from the minister. How much the ODAD then publishes and what he spends it on is unknown. There is no control possible over the spending and there is a breeding ground for large-scale corruption and fraud. The president has his mouth full of the statement that established institutions have been destroyed by the Bouterse government, but now his own minister destroys the established institutions and he looks the other way.

When Kuldipsingh was still Minister of Labor, Employment, and Youth Affairs, Rishi Raghoenath acted as ODAD at that ministry. There is verifiable proof that at that ministry the ODAD received the money from the cashier. This happened on instructions from Kuldipsingh. So the ODAD was able to spend the money how he wanted it without any authorized check. 

When Kuldipsingh of the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Youth Affairs left for the Ministry of Economic Affairs, she took Rishi Raghoenath to the "new" Ministry. At the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Raghoenath continued unauthorized practices in the same way as at the previous ministry. Also at this ministry, the established institutions were also sidelined (destroyed) by Kuldipsingh and all funds are being used by Raghoenath as acting ODAD.

Nobody knows what he spends on the funds. Checking the spending is possible in no way because the internal control department has been completely sidelined by the minister.  

Attempts at lowering the burden of government employees

The “Landsdienaren registration project” will be closed on 31 December. Non-registered government employees will no longer receive a salary from 1 January 2023. The registration started on October 1.

With the use of mobile units, the ministry wants to use any possibility to successfully close this project. The mobile unit started at the National Assembly, Duisburg, and Santo Boma criminal establishments. The Penitentiary officials, Brandweer Suriname and Defense Corps will soon be visited.

Minister Bronto Somohardjo already calls the registration successful. “At the parliament, 80% of the officials have already been registered. The Penitentiary officials Corps also scored 80%, while the officials of the Duisburg criminal institution scored 60% ". The minister calls on officials to register to prevent sanctions as this project still needs to be codified into law. 

Search for “Bordo” may have political aftereffects

Officials close to the president and Suriname’s public prosecution services state that the investigation of Joël 'Bordo' Martinus has nothing to do with ABOP or people around the vice president, Ronnie Brunswijk. 

President Chan Santokhi said in a statement that there is no interference in current criminal cases. His intelligence services are not concerned with activities around the VP.

It is not at all true that the Justitieel Interventie Team (JIT) falls under the president. JIT is a unit that directly resorts under the Attorney General. The case of Bordo is not investigated by JIT, but by the Cold Case of the Suriname Police Corps.

The VP is not well informed if he has heard from his intelligence service that he will be followed by the security services of the President's cabinet.

This comes shortly after Brunswijk accused the various institutions of using the government’s reach to tackle political adversaries. In these statements, it seems that Brunswijk is either defending Bordo’s murder and drug-related activities or is involved himself.

 No offshore oil production expected before 2027

Staatsoile announced recently that there is no offshore oil production expected before 2027 as the exploration continues. The recent rise in oil prices and more attention being placed on oil exploration are challenges. The state oil company has warned that the development of oil production will not be as fast as development in Guyana, which grew 42.8% in 2020 due to oil production.

The Liza oil field in the Suriname-Guyana basin is currently the largest oil field in the basin and has led to rapid development. A volume of almost 800 million barrels of crude oil has been rumoured to be found there. A hopeful Suriname oil community also hoped for similar results, however, due to differences in geology between the two countries, it is difficult to perform appraisal drilling offshore in Suriname, which makes assessing potential production rates in Suriname more difficult.

Simply put, the appraisal programme will take longer in Suriname than it has in Guyana, as such, the production will come later as well as its expectations for economic growth due to the production.