Rusland defends Heikerk’s nomination as TAS director: ‘Certificate of good conduct’ taken into account

Rusland confirmed in an interview with ABC Suriname on Thursday that the nomination has now been approved by the Council of Ministers. However, the appointment procedure has not yet been fully completed. The decision must first go to President Jennifer Simons, who must sign the official appointment resolution.

Only then can the further formalities, including determining the terms of employment and drawing up an employment contract, be completed.

NPS allocated director’s position within coalition

According to Rusland, it was agreed within the coalition leadership that the NPS could nominate a candidate for the directorship of TAS. Such agreements, he said, are part of the distribution of responsibilities among political parties that form a government together.

The vice president explained that coalition partners jointly determine which parties are given responsibility for filling certain leadership positions.

Following the recent court rulings concerning the directorship of Wendy Jap-A-Joe, it was decided, according to Rusland, to fill the vacancy again. The NPS subsequently nominated Heikerk.

Rusland responds to Dutch fraud case

During the interview, Rusland was also confronted with the earlier reporting on Heikerk’s role in a major Dutch fraud case.

In a Dutch criminal case from 2021, a defendant was convicted of, among other things, fraud and embezzlement. In earlier reporting on Heikerk, it was described that her actions were also addressed in the court’s considerations. Heikerk herself was not criminally convicted in that case.

Rusland stated that the discussion about this matter is not new. According to him, similar questions had already arisen when Heikerk was appointed director of the Management Instituut voor Grondregistratie en Landinformatiesysteem (MI-GLIS; Management Institute for Land Registration and Land Information System) in January 2021.

At the time, various matters were reviewed, according to the vice president, after which it was concluded that there was no obstacle to her appointment.

Rusland stated that Heikerk has a certificate of good conduct from the Dutch authorities. According to him, that document was one of the elements considered in the decision to nominate her again for a director’s position.

The vice president did not address in substance the court’s considerations regarding Heikerk’s role in the Dutch case. Nor did he provide further details about any separate integrity screening prior to the TAS nomination.

Terms of employment must be approved separately

Rusland made it clear that approval of the nomination does not mean that Heikerk can immediately take up the position as director.

Under TAS’s legal regulations, the terms of employment must be discussed with the Raad van Commissarissen (RvC; Supervisory Board). The responsible Minister of Transport, Communicatie en Toerisme (TCT) must then submit the terms to the Raad van Ministers for approval.

Only once that procedure has been completed can the terms of employment be definitively determined.

This procedure is particularly important because of the recent legal dispute involving former TAS director Wendy Jap-A-Joe.

The Hof van Justitie confirmed on October 30, 2026 that her statutory appointment term had expired and that she was no longer permitted to act as director of TAS. The lawsuit concerned, among other things, the relationship between her appointment period and her employment contract.

NDP may nominate new SRS director

In addition to the developments at TAS, Rusland announced that the government has also decided that the Surinaamse Radio Stichting (SRS; Surinamese Radio Foundation) will receive a new director.

Asked which political party may fill the director’s position at SRS, the vice president responded that it has been assigned to the Nationale Democratische Partij (NDP).

It was not announced whom the NDP will nominate for the position or when the new director will take office.

Also decisions on education, healthcare and sluices

Rusland further addressed various other decisions taken during Wednesday’s Council of Ministers meeting.

For instance, the government approved proposals for new salary scales within education. These proposals were prepared after consultations involving the education unions and the ministries of Education, Binnenlandse Zaken and Finance. Further coordination rests with the ministries of Education and Binnenlandse Zaken.

Decisions were also taken on the financial obligations of the Staatsziekenfonds (SZF; State Health Insurance Fund) towards hospitals. According to Rusland, this concerns tens of millions that must be made available to enable regular payments within the healthcare sector.

In addition, the Council of Ministers discussed investments in the repair and renewal of sluices at various locations in the country. Rusland mentioned an amount of more than 100 million, but did not specify during the interview in which currency.

According to the vice president, these decisions are part of the government’s regular work to safeguard the functioning of the government and services to society.