NDP vice-chairman Ramon Abrahams has sharply criticised the functioning of his party. According to him, no meetings are being held and party members who are capable of doing the work are insufficiently involved in party activities. “We are dead,” he said on Monday in the programme Bakana Tori.
Abrahams stated that, following the death of former chairman Delano Bouterse, too many party members are being excluded from the party process. According to him, this is visible in the composition of the leadership and in the way the party is being run.
He stressed that his criticism is not directed solely at the chairman, because the party leadership consists of several people. However, he believes it should involve people who can carry out party work. “But it must involve people in party activities who can do the work.” According to Abrahams, Bouterse worked with groups responsible for specific areas and tasks. According to him, that method is no longer being applied.
The vice-chairman also criticises the absence of a cadre meeting since the elections. According to him, there were several moments when such a meeting was necessary, but none took place. As an example, he mentioned the war in Iran and its consequences for fuel prices in Suriname. “If Bouterse had been there, he would have brought his advisers together and held a meeting, but that no longer happens. His absence is noticeable, because that leadership is no longer there.”
Abrahams repeats that the party has people capable of handling the work, but that they are being excluded. He also believes that the transfer of the party leadership did not proceed as it should have. According to him, Bouterse should have guided that transfer himself, but the former chairman was not able to do so at that time. Abraham said he will remain a member of the NDP. However, due to changed views, he is not willing to function under certain individuals.
