Suriname candidate for Caricom top post back in the running after protest

(De Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – Suriname’s candidate for Secretary General (SG) of the CARICOM was unjustly excluded by the selection committee without any reason. Suriname’s candidate, the country’s current Ambassador to the UN Henry MacDonald, must be heard by the selection committee in two weeks’ time. After this, a jury consisting of five CARICOM Heads of Government, including President Desi Bouterse, will interview the five candidates and make a choice. This decision was made during the 32rd CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in St. Kitts last weekend. MacDonald was passed over due to a “miscommunication”, President Bouterse said when he returned from the meeting yesterday. “He did not know a second test had to be taken, and the committee could not reach him. They excluded him then without informing us,” Bouterse says. Suriname tabled this problem and received the support of all CARICOM member countries, so the exclusion was revoked and MacDonald will get another fair chance.