During a press conference regarding the agreement between the state and the Chinese mining company Chinalco, several organizations, nine in total, showed that they cannot accept this deal.
Hesdy Ommen, chair of the Federation of Para Plantations who also spoke on behalf of the Fiti Makandra organization, said that sometimes it is necessary to look to the past and asked what Para has retained from the time with Suralco. “Nothing. More misery than anything else. We demand that the community is communicated with. People have to talk to the community about this. The people who live in the area know what the pain points are. We are in fact the ones who maintain the land. We manage it and then a multinational cannot come with all the consequences that entails.”
Ommen gave the government the message to listen to the residents. "You say you are democratic so listen to your people. Don't just make a deal, because we will not accept that. We do not want a deal to be forced down our throats," said Ommen.
Lawyer Antoon Karg was also one of the speakers and pointed out some remarkable things in the agreement. One of them is article 8. “The state has agreed to assist the investor when it comes to difficulties with local legislation, or difficulties that arise from the relationship with the community.” Karg calls this remarkable. “As a state, you should go for the interest of the people. You should not commit yourself to the fact that where it is permitted and where there are existing rules, your assistance goes to the international investor. “Karg characterizes this as a suspicious situation. “And that is not what we elect our governments for.”
The representative of the Association of Surinamese Business ( VSB ) and the Association of Surinamese Manufacturers ( ASFA ), Kamlesh Ganesh , began by stating that both organizations are pleased with the announcement that the Chinalco agreement may not go ahead during this term of office. Ganesh called this step a good start with regard to transparency and good policy with regard to our national resources. “As representatives of the business community, we emphasize that investments are essential for economic growth and employment. However, these must take place within a framework of justice, sustainable development and respect for our legislation and the rights of all parties involved.”
The statement read out further stated that the now paused 'agreement' falls seriously short in the stated criteria for sustainable development. "There is insufficient transparency about the investors involved. The tax exemptions create an unfair playing field for Surinamese companies and the impact on the environment and the indigenous communities is insufficiently guaranteed. The VSB and ASFA therefore call for a thorough reconsideration of how Suriname uses its natural resources," Ganesh said.
IKSUR chairman Lloyd Read also said that he found it a positive development that the various organisations, including the trade union C-47 and the Association of Economists (VES), had made themselves heard in this press conference. “It is now starting to take shape. We are tired of the behaviour of bad 'good governance' that governments upon governments are doing to the people. We are going to have to make sure that this stops”, according to Read.
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