Boat owners Commewijne wants to raise fare to SRD 3

The private boat owners from the Commewijne District recently made it clear that they want to raise the boat fare to SRD 3. Union chairman Michel Nathoe pointed out that people should pay SRD 3 for a boat ride on the five routes in Commewijne namely Laarwijk-Domburg, Meerzorg-Par’bo, NieuwAmsterdam-Leonsberg, Mariënburg-Margaretha, Montressor-Kronenburg and vice versa. He explained that the current boat fare of SRD 1.25 is not enough for boat owners to make ends meet. The boat owners have not adjusted the fares since 2008. “We receive fuel subsidy from the government but just like in other sectors it simply is not enough to stay afloat,” said Nathoe who added that the union sent a letter to the minister of Public Works, Transport and Communication, asking him to address the issue. But the boat owners still have not received any response from the minister. All of the boat owners have a permit and must therefore stick to the rules, regulations and terms of the permit. The union chairman pointed out that the government has not paid the boat owners their subsidy for the past 8 months. The union had already begun negotiations with the then Minister of Transport, Communication and Tourism (TCT), Andojo Rusland. “The negotiations were almost in the final phase. But now TCT has been transferred to the Ministry of Public Works. We are sounding the alarm so that the voices of the boat owners can be heard. We certainly won’t abandon the nation. We will initiate union action because we have also been hit by the financial crisis.”