Concerned citizens present petitions to CBvS and parliament

A group of concerned citizens on Tuesday presented petitions to the Central Bank of Suriname (CBvS) and parliament in response to the reports about the disappearance of foreign currency from the foreign reserve.

The group which was supported by activist Xaviera Jessurun is demanding answers from the government in order to know exactly what happened to the money that had been entrusted to the Central Bank. The group reportedly gave people on the streets the opportunity to cosign the petition. The petition that was presented to the Central Bank of Suriname states that management and the board of directors of the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance allowed the silent ‘smash and grab’ to happen. It also states that this has left the nation in uncertainty. The citizens are demanding a full and independent investigation that must be carried out by the Central Audit Department (Clad) and the Auditor’s Office. They also want to know the size of the government’s debt at the Central Bank of Suriname.

The group is also demanding the immediate publication of all of the annual reports of the Central Bank of Suriname dating back to 2014 and the publication of the weekly reports of the past 6 months. After the group had presented the petition to the Central Bank of Suriname, it went to parliament where it also presented a petition. In the petition that was presented to parliament the group is demanding clear answers from the board of directors at the Central Bank and the minister of Finance. The citizens also want to know what the money was used for and which institutes and people authorized these transactions.