A drastic change, more transparent policy and setting priorities. Surinamese President Chan Santokhi made a number of pledges this week, with which he hopes that peace will return to the country – after almost two weeks of protests.
While thousands of disaffected Surinamese took to the streets to demonstrate against his policy, Santokhi diligently entered into discussions with various organizations from the social and civil society on Monday and heard their criticism. That was not tender, Santokhi shared with the press. At the table, flanked by a few ministers and Vice President Ronnie Brunswijk, Santokhi’s tone was mild, concerned, but also determined: things have to change, he admitted. Before the protests, Santokhi was able to respond aggressively and some say arrogantly to criticism with words such as “I have been elected for five years, and until then I remain president”. Now he said: “I have listened and what society wants is going to happen.”
Controversial construction project
In concrete terms, a number of decisions are being reversed that already caused bad blood when he took office two years ago, such as the favoritism in the allocation of land and the political appointments of family members. A controversial project, intended for people with lower incomes, but in which building plots were eventually distributed to politicians and their relatives, among others, has been temporarily halted with immediate effect. Nothing can be done about this project for half a year. Buildings are not allowed, but banks are also not allowed to provide mortgages. Santokhi wants to use that time to find out who has been allocated land and whether this has been done lawfully.
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Another commitment Santokhi is now making is to tackle his government’s controversial nomination policy. Since taking office, family members have been appointed to high and powerful positions on supervisory or supervisory boards. For example, Leo Brunswijk, the brother of Vice President Brunswijk, holds various positions, for example on the board of directors at Staatsolie and the Surinamese Luchtvaartmaatschappij (SLM). Santokhi’s wife is also a member of Staatsolie’s supervisory board. Within two weeks, all organizations must submit a list of names, especially people who have double functions.
Still, the question is whether Santokhi will succeed in tackling real structural problems, such as the economic crisis and the problems in health care, where code black is in effect, due to chronic shortages of health personnel and resources. In a short period of time, four babies have already died in the neonatal department of the Academic Hospital because of the crisis there and the departure of healthcare staff to countries such as the Netherlands, Curaçao and Bonaire where they are paid better. Santokhi promised one hundred million Surinamese dollars (about 4 million euros) from an emergency fund to solve acute problems.
For the protesters, Santokhi’s promises are not enough. They had drawn up a list of seven points they would like to see changed. If three of them are granted, they want to start a conversation with the president, says Dave van Aerde, leader of the demonstrations, from Paramaribo. “Until then, we will not have a meeting with him, although we appreciate that the signal has been received and the government seems to have woken up.”
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