Two Fridays ago, February 17, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Paramaribo, Suriname, storming the National Assembly building and looting businesses as pressure mounted on the government in the wake of rising prices for fuel and general cost of living. Tear gas was used at the Office of the President, and the protesters demanded that President Chandrikapersad Santokhi and Vice President Ronnie Brunswijk resign because they have presided over an International Monetary Fund (IMF) prescription of economic measures that have resulted in a steady steep rise in prices.
Police fired teargas and rubber bullets to disperse persons, and a section of the National Assembly building was badly damaged. It appeared that responders managed to extinguish a fire that was set inside the Assembly building. President Santokhi missed the OIL Expo opening in Guyana, and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) 44th. Summit in the Bahamas and opted to address the opening virtually.
Suriname’s exchange rate has slipped more than double from 15 Suriname dollars to US$1.00 to 33 Suriname dollars to US$1.00 and government has cut many subsidies. Activist Stephano ‘Pakittow’ Biervliet called for this major protest, and said that, the Government has been in power for more than two years and has still not delivered what was promised before the elections. The activist believes that the government should do nothing more for Surinamese society and should resign, and support for the protest action has been pledged from all sectors in the country.
Crippling Debt repayments, DUE in 2023 and 2026
- USD $ 125 Million Note due in 2023.
- USD $ 550 Million Bonds due in 2026
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team visited Paramaribo and IMF approved a three-year, $688 million program, with $55 million for immediate disbursing. Rising international food and energy prices and continued global supply chain disruptions are likely to worsen the external position and push up inflation.
Higher oil and gold prices will help create some urgently needed fiscal space by boosting government mineral revenues. The government is working to replace the sales tax with a broad-based VAT, scale back ineffective tax exemptions, increase taxation of the mineral sector and improve the efficiency of the public workforce. The average electricity tariff will move up steadily toward cost recovery levels, but subsidies have been put in place to ensure energy remains affordable for the poorest customers. Cost reduction measures and efficiency improvements are being identified through a comprehensive assessment of the operations of the state-owned electricity company.
The global commodity price shock could have more disruptive effects, particularly as a headwind to the authorities’ efforts to reduce inflation. Rising non-performing loans or a materialization of risks in the financial system could precipitate capital outflows or instability in the financial system. Negotiating with their official and private creditors to secure a timely restructuring of Suriname’s external debt. This should help strengthen the country’s fiscal position and restore debt sustainability.
Many in Suriname are saying that their 3 Fs, Families, Friends and Favourites is like Guyana, and that they were better off, with a better quality of life, living conditions, and Exchange Rate, from the previous Government. Currently 11 % Unemployment Rate but is double at 22 %. Reportedly, inflation is 54.6% for 2022. Protesters storm Suriname’s parliament as anti-austerity rally turns chaotic | Reuters
Population 610,000
| ETHNIC GROUP | SHARE OF THE POPULATION | |
| 1 | Afro-Surinamese | 37% |
| 2 | East Indian | 27% |
| 3 | Javanese | 16% |
| 4 | Mixed Heritage | 14%
|
- Indigenous 4%
- Europeans 2%
President Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi was elected in 2020 to a five-year term, leading his centrist Progressive Reform Party (VHP) to win 20 of the parliament’s 51 seats. Santokhi defeated former President Desire “Dési” Bouterse. In a coalition with the General Liberation and Development Party and National Party of Suriname, the VHP controls a total of 33 seats. Although Santokhi was elected on an anticorruption platform, corruption still presents widespread challenges. The protests are in the same week that the smallest party in government left the ruling coalition, citing disagreements over poverty and social policies.
Suriname’s economy relies primarily on the extraction of natural resources, and newly discovered oil fields are attracting investment and reportedly, Suriname is also an important transit point for cocaine trafficking to Europe from Colombia and Venezuela
Beginning in 2015, Suriname’s economy contracted, and the budget and balance of payments came under severe distress. Government revenue from mining fell sharply, foreign reserves were drained, and GDP growth contracted. By 2020, a severe fiscal and balance of payments crisis began to unfold in Suriname, which continued into 2021. Domestic vulnerabilities were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a sharp GDP contraction (15.9 percent in 2020), and increasing unemployment and poverty. In 2021, Suriname had a GDP per capita of US$ 4,836, below its peak of US$ 9,472 in 2014 and well below the LAC regional average of US$15,092. Suriname Overview: Development news, research, data | World Bank
