Board of directors at Canawaima lacks legal basis

The new board of directors at the Canawaima Management Company NV (CMC) which was established two months ago by the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communication (OWT&C) reportedly lacks legal basis. A source told Times of Suriname that only the Shipping Company Suriname (SMS) is authorized to assign people to the board of directors. CMC is tasked with providing the ferry service between Nickerie and neighboring Guyana. The statutes of the CMC clearly state that only the board of directors at the SMS is authorized to appoint people to and remove people from the board of directors at the CMC. The source explained that the current board of directors and the previous one that was established by the ministry three years ago lack any legal basis. “But the ministry is ignoring the statutes and putting people on the board of the CMC.” The source expressed concern over the fact that decisions that are made by the current board of directors at Canawaima will have no legal grounds. “Decisions are made by unauthorized people and that is unacceptable. Six months ago the workers at the CMC established a union to protect their interests. The union is always negotiating with the board of directors about several things but that is also unacceptable because the board has no legal footing. The current board of directors must step down and the ministry must approach the SMS to do things by the book. The SMS falls under the ministry but that does not mean that it can do whatever it wants. There are statutes and the ministry must also obey them.”