Sometimes an appointment raises questions, but no one shows on the basis of which requirements someone was chosen.

An administrator is not functioning, but remains in office. A report disappears into a drawer. Employees issue warnings, but receive no answer.

Meanwhile, the decisions simply continue.

We can no longer afford this. Especially now that Suriname is preparing for developments in oil and gas, we must be able to trust the people who make policy, assess permits and exercise oversight. Do they have the education, knowledge and experience their position requires? And can they act independently when major interests are at stake?

Expose

Make visible what is going wrong.

Put appointment decisions, job requirements, reports and warnings on the table. Show society how a decision was made and who was responsible for it.

Reveal

Establish what actually happened. Were the rules followed? Was a warning ignored? Where were mistakes made and why were they not corrected earlier?

Remove

Intervene if it appears that someone was unlawfully appointed, is unsuitable for the position or is seriously failing.

Correct a wrong decision. Replace an administrator where necessary, through a fair procedure. Also address the working methods that made such mistakes possible. Otherwise, there will soon be another face in the same chair, while nothing changes.

When we look at our interior, we see how areas are being affected by uncontrolled logging and mining. We hear about mercury pollution and the use of cyanide. Who monitors what happens there? Who intervenes when rules are violated? Such questions become even more urgent when oil and gas place new demands on our government and our environmental authorities.

An institution may be an authority on paper. In practice, it must live up to that name. This requires competent people, clear rules, independent oversight and administrators who dare to make decisions. A political nomination alone does not prove that someone is suitable.

It does not matter to me whether mistakes were made under previous governments or under the current one. It concerns the general interest of Suriname. Society has the right to know what happened, who bears responsibility and which mistakes are actually being corrected.

Expose. Reveal. Remove.

Make the facts visible. Bring the truth to light. And remove what stands in the way of good governance and the protection of our country.