THE CHAIRMAN OF the parliament, Ashwin Adhin, is not satisfied with the state of affairs in the highest council of state. He talks in conversation with the True Time about taking some measures to ensure that the work in DNA will be done better. The question is whether these measures will be effective.
The chairman complains about the fact that the attitude of the members actually ensures that no progress can be made on important laws that are needed. Certainly in the context of the oil and gas wealth that Suriname expects, quite a bit still needs to be put in order. Adhin names a number of fifty laws that he wants to have passed by the end of his term.
The parliament in Suriname proves that more money does not equal more commitment and quality
One of the new measures from the old box is the public committee meeting. Those meetings were made public under the leadership of ex-chairman of parliament and current president Jennifer Geerlings-Simons. This allowed the community to follow all technical deliberations and see exactly who participated and who did not. Under chairman Marinus Bee, these meetings were once again held behind closed doors. The reason would be that parliament’s experts, such as lawyers, did the preliminary work.
Another new measure being introduced is reading out the names of the members present in the room. This would allow the public to monitor who is and who is not present during the DNA meetings. But the question is also whether absence is punished where it affects people most: in their wallets.
It is beyond scandalous that parliamentarians, who now have a full-time job and a full-time salary, are simply absent. And the only punitive measure is to mention the names of those present. This may not produce results until five years from now, but it should be discouraged now that members simply stay away while retaining their salary.
What Adhin should perhaps be more careful about is the speaking time of members. For example, he has announced that after the technical discussions in the committee meetings, only faction leaders may speak in the public meetings and that this will save him time. This would allow him to deal with several laws per day, he indicated.
The discussion some time ago was that Adhin interfered too much with the content of the meetings and discussions, while he should be the first among equals and above all should have a facilitating role. Limiting members’ speaking time in public meetings may appear undesirable and non-democratic.
On the other hand, DNA’s substantive debates must be taken to a higher level, with respect for each other and without shouting outside the microphone. Finding the balance between these two strategies can be quite a challenge. What is special is that the parliament in Suriname also proves that more money does not mean more commitment and quality.
