“President is not under first lady’s thumb”

President Chan Santokhi recently pointed out that he has taken notice of the many comments and criticism regarding his wife, first lady Melissa SantokhiSeenacherry. Even political exponents claim that the president is being led by his wife when it comes to making decisions that are not always in everybody’s interest. The head of state made it clear that there is a wrong perception. The first lady has been given clear tasks. The head of state does not deny that mistakes are made but he also questioned many of the comments regarding the first lady. “People must get used to a new type of first lady. Of course there will be some minor flaws which must be corrected,” said President Santokhi who made it clear that his wife is doing a good job and that the criticism is based on prejudice towards her. “The worse thing is that people are creating hate in the community. That must not happen.” Rumors suggest that the president’s wife has secured six jobs via her husband and that she gets paid for all of them. President Santokhi made it clear that these alleged acts of nepotism are just stories. The First Lady only has a seat on the board of supervisory directors at the State Oil Company (Staatsolie). “That’s all,” said Santokhi. “For the rest, she is on a team at the office to support me so that I can do a good job. I hear that she has 5, 6, 7 jobs. Sometimes it shocks me, too.”