December 29, 1998
Director of Suriname Coast Traders, Cecil Mannes has reported yesterday that something will have to happen if the Government does not come over the bridge with the millions they owe them. Mannes reported that Coast Traders was waiting on bank guarantee from the Ministries of Finance and Transport which was to be handed over yesterday. Mannes explained that the two Ministries have come up with a regulation to pay the outstanding rent that had not been paid since February last within three months. Suriname Coast Traders has agreed with this but are also asking for a bank guarantee. Coast Traders are now in a financial spot that will have some effect on the salaries and the bonus. The Xmas bonus was not paid in full and the company is about to face an even larger problem with the salaries for December. According to Mannes , who would not reveal the exact amount that the government had last paid but said it was just about a months rent and that the debt is still in the hundreds of millions. He added that Coast Traders did not want to deprive the population by stopping the ferry services because this would be a catastrophe. The company will then have to close down. If the Government does not pay the next step will be a legal one.
The National Assembly is still having problems getting its memebers interested enough to attend meetings. Another meeting had to be postponed yesteday due to lack of quorum. The MOP is still waiting to be discussed. Chairman of the Assembly Marijke Djawala Persad was not available for comments. The question arises as to how she plans to cope with this problem that does not look as though it will change in the near future.
That crime is on the rise in Suriname was again obvious this past week. A 45 year old Dutch-Surinamer was arrested at the Air port for having 4 kg Coke in her baggage. A 78 year old woman died of burns she received when a Brazilian pork knocker threw a bucket of gasoline on two of his collegues wetting the woman who at that time was standing near a stove. Her dress immediately caught afire. She was rushed to Afobaka where all efforts were made to ease her pain but to no avail. She died shortly afterwards. A Brazilian was stabbed to death by yet another Brazilian. This took place while both were drinking with several other men. It has been reported that a quarrel broke out between the two which ended in the fatal knifing incident. Five Bush Negroes were arrested in connection with the many robberies on the Moengo-Albina Highway. In one case a woman was brutally dragged out of the car and raped. According to further reports there is still a gang of these highway-bandits operating in that area. They have been reported to be in the possession of communication equipment and at least one automobile. It is possible that victims are observed at Albina and the information passed on to those who lay in wait on the road. Vehicles traveling in convoy and cars with all male passengers are not stopped by the armed bandits. Most victims were people coming from French Guyana but there was one case of a few Guyanese traveling to French Guyana who were held up and who reported this to their Embassy in Paramaribo. The Embassy later reported this to the police.
President Jules Wijdenbosch will meet today with members of the Judiciary. Reports state that the situation at the Judiciary is a cause of concern to its members who are graduately beginning to show signs of fatigue. The Judges who are overburdened are holding hearings until late in the afternoon while sentences and civil cases have to be continuosly postponed. The suspects are the ones to feel the brunt of this situation. Many have been detained for longer periods while others are told that their cases will not be heard for at least another year or two. This is the result of the Judicary not accepting the appointments of Alfred Veldema as President of the Court of Justice and Mrs Heloise Rozenblad as the new Attorney General. Mr Geetapersad Gangarampanday , Dean of the order of Legal Advisors is said to be angry with the way in which the government is dealing with this problem.