Bouterse: “Price of $1 from SRD 7.80 to SRD 7.70”

President Desi Bouterse who is also the chairman of the National Democatric Party (NDP) on Sunday told other party members at a meeting which was held at the party’s headquarters that the exchange rate for 1 US dollar has dropped from SRD 7.80 to SRD 7.70 without any intervention from the Central Bank of Suriname (CBvS). He pointed out that 1 US dollar even costs less than SRD 7.70 at the Central Bank. When the attendees did not respond to the news, Bouterse asked why they did not give him an applause. That is when the attendees started applauding. Bouterse pointed out that this development is a great achievement. “That is why I said that the work is being done. The work is being done but we love to put out country in a negative spotlight,” said Bouterse who added that “2016 was a difficult year for our country.” He pointed out that Finance Minister Gillmore Hoefdraad has already explained that there will be some slight growth at the end of 2017. That is when the country will switch from minus to plus. “It will go from 0.9 to 1. The growth will continue gradually in 2018. We will present a few big projects,” said Bouterse who added that he has already presented several proposals to the wakamans. “Every week 5,000 packages are handed out to poor people. After a small evaluation, this number will be increased to 10,000 because the people are having difficulty making ends meet.” The packages are reportedly not part of the project of the Ministry of Social Affairs.