“The government should consider creating a statue of Eddy Jharap,” MP Mahinder Jogi stated in parliament on Thursday during the budget debate.
Jogi stated that Jharap, the former director of Staatsolie, is the pioneer of the oil sector in Suriname. He claimed that thanks to Jharap, Staatsolie has advanced, performed, made history, and serves as a prime example among state-owned enterprises. “The man who himself, wearing boots in the fields of Catharina Sophia, helped lay the pipes for this company, deserves a statue.” He hopes the government seriously considers this and that it happens before the first oil is extracted from Block 58.
Jharap was born into a farming family of 10 children. In 1964, he obtained his diploma from the Algemene Middelbare School and received a geology scholarship from the bauxite company Suralco. He left for the Netherlands to study there. Upon his return to Suriname in 1970 as a graduate, Jharap joined the Geological Mining Service (GMD). A highlight of his life was November 25, 1982: the day of his first successful oil drilling.
He owes his fame to the success of Staatsolie during his 25-year tenure as managing director (since 1980). Jharap is the company’s first employee, first director, and the first person to celebrate 25 years of service. He was succeeded in 2005 by Marc Waaldijk.
In 1998, the Wijdenbosch administration wanted to sell Staatsolie. Hugo Coleridge, the discoverer of oil in the Calcutta oil field, resigned as chairman of the Supervisory Board of Staatsolie to express his dissatisfaction. Jharap, founder and director of Staatsolie, opposed the plans and was dismissed by Jules Wijdenbosch (NDP). The court later overturned the dismissal. Because protests brought down Wijdenbosch, the sale plans were abandoned.
