Albert Alleyne: “We are dying in the movie”

“We are dying in the movie because things are bad in the country right now,” the chairman of the Consumer Circle, Albert Alleyne, told Times of Suriname. He explained that it was expected that the government would adjust the exchange rates. But the people had not expected the fuel price hike that followed soon after that. “If the fuel price goes up, many retail prices also go up and that means that the consumers can buy less due to the fact that the purchasing power will decrease. Those who already had difficulty making ends meet will experience extremely though times. The Consumer Circle disapproves of this,” said Alleyne who added that the organization has had talks with the government but that it has noticed that the opposite of what was indicated is taking place. Alleyne explained that the government would initially address things in phases but that it has chosen to take all of the measures simultaneously. “The people are abruptly being confronted with everything and we find that unfortunate,” said Alleyne who added that the adjustment of the exchange rate was just a formality because the prices of goods had already been based on a price of SRD 14 to 15 for one US dollar. The Consumer Circle on Tuesday afternoon had a meeting with Saskia Walden, minister of Economic Affairs, Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation, to discuss the current situation.