“Every other citizen would already have been thrown in jail”

“Every other citizen in this country would already have been arrested and thrown in jail,” said MP Krishna Mathoera from the Progressive Reform Party (VHP). The legislator who is a former police chief labeled the actions as corruption and fraud. “It is punishable by law.” Legislators are demanding that the government take action against the unacceptable actions of Robert van Trikt, ex governor of the Central Bank of Suriname (CBvS). The government on Tuesday presented several irregularities to parliament to which legislators responded that “these actions cannot go unpunished.”

MP Mathoera deems it unacceptable that the irresponsible use of state funds came to light after several months. She also condemned the fact that the opportunity was given to erase potential evidence by changing the date and committing fraud. “Why do we tarry when it comes to securing evidence? Why did it take months to discover this?” The legislator pointed out that this case shows how vulnerable state funds are due to the position of power that every governor has at the CBvS. She also pointed out that the supervisory board also carries the blame because it failed to fulfill its obligation therefore making it possible for the unacceptable actions to continue uninterrupted. “Desperate diseases must have desperate remedies.” The actual perils at the Central Bank of Suriname are also raising questions about what went on at the bank before Van Trikt started running things there. The opposition wants an investigation to be launched into the activities that went on during the past 10 years to find out what former governors did when they were in that special position of power.