PARAMARIBO, Suriname – President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons says her newly elected administration is currently exploring ways to alleviate Suriname’s debt burden and that a team of experts from the Ministry of Finance and the President is examining the state’s finances.
President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons (left) , flanked by Vice President Gregory Rusland., chaired the first government meeting on Thursday (CDS Photo).“We are looking at ways to alleviate the burden of debt service,” President Geerlings-Simons said in a wide-ranging interview with the state-owned Communications Service Suriname (CDS), following the government’s first council meeting on Thursday
She said that discussions have been held with various foreign experts and various organizations, such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Those discussions are continuing. And more discussions are needed, including with other stakeholders, to see if we can provide some relief, because the burden is quite heavy and will become even heavier starting next year,” Geerlings-Simons said.
Geerlings-Simons, who took up office on July 16, said one of the most important aspects of managing the state’s finances is the budget, which must be finalized before 2025.
She said that this is the new government’s first task and that discussions have been held with experts and the Tax and Customs Administration on ways to increase state revenue.
“For now, we’ve looked at certain things that aren’t going entirely smoothly yet,” she said, noting that among other things, improving the collection of value-added tax (VAT) and strengthening the Tax and Customs Administration.
She said that VAT is sometimes collected from citizens but not remitted to the state.
“So the Tax and Customs Administration will have to pay extra attention to this. Furthermore, some things aren’t going well at customs. So we’ll look into that to work more efficiently and collect more. This means that we can all at least cover our fixed costs until the end of the year. That’s what we’re focusing on.”
Regarding the fiscal package, President Geerlings-Simons points out that a situation is being replicated “where we haven’t changed any policy measures for the 2025 budget adjustment, based on what has already been spent in the country.
“It’s really just what the government has to spend monthly on fixed costs. So, no new policy has been included in the budget at this time. The policy measures have remained unchanged.”
She said based on an overview obtained from the former minister of finance and planning, it is clear that the country is once again in a negative primary balance .
“That government budget is in deficit. And a substantial deficit… until May, already something like eight percent,” President Geerlings-Simons said.
She told the CDS that for the fiscal year, the funds spent so far and still available for wages, salaries, and fixed costs amount to a shortfall of approximately SRD1.3 billion (One SRD=US$0.02 cents) for 2025.
“The 2025 budget hasn’t been adopted yet, so the funds were spent based on 2024. But that has since been exceeded as well,” she said, adding that only fixed costs, namely interest and debt repayments, wages and salaries, and subsidies, have been considered.
The government said that this does not yet include the approximately seven billion SRD, the government owes individuals and businesses in purchase orders and payment obligations. “Because those also need to be further screened. That’s on top of the SRD1.3 billion deficit,”
Geerlings-Simons said, noting that the government has other revenues, namely US dollar revenues, which could cover the monthly deficits. However, according to the head of state, these revenues are not yet fully understood.
Another priority for the new government is the preservation of the Surinamese Airlines (SLM) with the head of state indicating that discussions have already been held with the SLM, with companies involved in its maintenance and future, and with stakeholders from the aviation sector. These discussions will continue next week.
“SLM is crucial, but the company is operating at a loss,” she said, noting that this issue therefore demands a solution.
But she said that the coalition government wants to retain the company in Suriname if possible “and that’s what we’re focusing on.
“It will certainly be a major operation, but we already have information that the entire aviation sector is a problem and that we need to address this urgently,” Geerlings-Simons said, acknowledging also that the blacklisting by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority Suriname (CASAS) will mean even more problems for the SLM and other companies in the Surinamese aviation sector.
“So we think we have ample reason to quickly investigate the aviation sector in detail to determine where the need is greatest and then determine how we will marshal the necessary resources.”
She said that Suriname benefits from the aviation sector, including overflying aircraft and that “all these things need to be addressed”.
Regarding the Tourism, the head of state said focus will be on how to strengthen the Suriname Tourism Board and that there are ongoing issues that require daily attention, and long-term goals that the government must focus on.
“If funding is needed for certain things, we need to look into that as well. If other measures or laws are necessary, those need to be reviewed.,” she said, adding this should allow the government to work more effectively on other matters as well.
