Brunswijk shocked: Employees without job description at VP’s Office

Vice President Ronnie Brunswijk is not happy about the things that he were left behind at the VP’s Office by his predecessor, Ashwin Adhin. Not only is the building in a pretty bad shape but he also came across bills that still have not been paid. The bills of the VP’s Office amount to about SRD 30 million in debt. Brunswijk pointed out that the SRD 27.2 million phone bill has not been paid since 2016. The 2019 phone bill at the VP’s Office amounts to SRD 9.2 million. The VP’s Office has to pay the Telecommunication Office Suriname (Telesur) SRD 26.3 million and Digicel SRD 872,000. It also has to pay suppliers who have provided their goods, services and knowledge since 2017. Even the bill for the purchase of the ACs in 2016 which amounts to SRD 108,000 still has not been paid. The VP’s Office also failed to pay for the purchase of furniture and office supplies. This bill amounts to SRD 105,000. “There is also a debt of SRD 633,650 at the SZF, said the new VP who called the bills saddening.” The stack of unpaid bills are not the issue at the VP’s Office. Just like at all of the nation’s ministries, there is also a big group of new state employees at the Office of the VP. VP Brunswijk explained that some these new state employees do not have a job description.

“There are about 100 workers who do not have a clear job description,” VP Brunswijk told parliament before adding that the issue is being addressed. There are also 19 consultants at the VP’s Office. All of them have vague contracts and they earn between SRD 9,000 and SRD 24,000 every month. “We are busy making an inventory of their tasks and activities.”