(de Ware. Tijd) PARAMARIBO — President Desi Bouterse has promised the legislature that his government will go to war against all proven cases of corruption. He instructed vice president Robert Ameerali to order the Government Accounting Agency (CLAD) to start immediate investigation in all government departments and semi-government enterprises to unearth malpractices.
The Chief executive promised that if the law has been broken the suspects will face criminal charges. The Head of State is serious on the corruption issue. He has taken notice of the cases presented by both sides in parliament on fraud and corruption within the government. The president was angered by the fact that some legislators present their cases as if corruption is rife in the country and that no positive developments take place. ‘We shouldn’t act as if Suriname or this administration invented corruption,’ Bouterse said reproachful.
Bouterse placed the issue of corruption against the backdrop of international developments, arguing that the US and Europe have been facing corruption in big firms for decades. This finally resulted in a global financial crisis in 2008. Measures have been taken to fight the crisis, but the positive developments were not kept hidden. But in Suriname Bouterse sees the opposite: alleged instances of corruption are exaggerated while the positive developments are not mentioned at all. Bouterse argued that while the world keeps silent about the corruption that led to the global crisis and Europe is gradually abolishing social provisions, Suriname on the other hand has stepped up and improved social protection of its citizens.
Members of the opposition objected to the president’s view. Asiskoemar Gajadien and Mahinder Jogi wanted the president to state concretely which of the many cases presented in parliament will actually be investigated. Bouterse responded that the Carifesta and Marienburg issues are already being investigated. ‘We don’t waste words but we are determined,’ the president said. DOE faction leader Carl Breeveld argued that the global financial crisis was the result of a moral crisis: people were stealing. He made a plea to investigate the corruption cases in Suriname indiscriminately. The legislator expressed disappointment over measures to investigate all concrete cases presented in parliament.-.
