PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC – The main opposition National Democratic Party (NDP) says the measures announced by the government earlier this week to deal with the “runaway’ foreign exchange situation in the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country will lead to the creation of a black market, arbitrariness, and nepotism.
The leader of the NDP faction, Rabin Parmessar, told the National Assembly at the start of the debate on Thursday that the measures announced by Chandrikapersad Santokhi are “all nice-sounding one-liners.”
On Tuesday, Santokhi said that his government had decided to implement “a package of very urgent measures in the concise term to stabilize the exchange rate,” adding that the government is fully aware of the situation and that action had to be taken.
The measures will remain in force until December 31 this year. The government said there would also be a crackdown on illegal currency trading and bureaux de change operating without a valid license.
“We will not allow the Surinamese people to be impoverished by illegality. There will be a task force to deal with economic uncertainty,” Santokhi told legislators.
In addition to the monetary measures, provisions will also be made to strengthen the leadership of the Central Bank of Suriname (CBvS) with a view to a more active management and monitoring of monetary developments in the country.
The scope for extending credit by the banking sector is being reduced due to an adjustment of the Suriname dollar cash reserve, and banks’ credit growth is capped. The authorities said these measures would also curb massive private lending and take effect in April.
In addition to the regular open market operations, with time deposits and Central Bank Certificates, the option of an investment instrument with a stable value, such as the then Powisi certificates, is proposed so that citizens can have an attractive, durable option for investing.
In his presentation, Parmessar questioned the government’s silence about the ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), adding, “many of the things the government plans to do are contrary to the agreements made with the IMF.
“President, have you understood the message from the IMF that they have no confidence in your policies?”
He urged the government to implement the measures linked to the Currency Act introduced by the previous NDP government, “which took you to court for suspension, redrawing it, updating it and thereby helping to promote regulation in the currency market.”
He said further that all surpluses of the public banks must be disposed of at the CBvS and that the central bank must “once again” be allowed to “play the key role in money transfers, to have all deposits from parastatal companies and others only go through the parent bank, as usual, and not through the private banks.”
The NDP parliamentary leader also calls on the government to publish the new Banking Law immediately, adding that “without good governance, especially transparency, there will never be development.”
He is also calling for strengthening key institutions and that the government should drastically adjust its spending policy, saying, “there is a lot of waste and especially corruption.”
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