WE ARE agree that many of our institutions in Suriname are weak, eroded and politicized. We all seem to have accepted that and have moved on to business as usual. But the consequences of these weak institutions are destroying the country. The fact that governments are not actually doing anything to correct this weakness does not make the situation any better.
We have had three chiefs of police in Suriname in the past ten years: Roberto Prade, Bryan Isaacs and now Melvin Pinas. Pinas succeeds Isaacs after he was officially chief of police for only two years. In a police organization, seniority is used and ranks are often determined on that basis. Wisdom and insight into how to deal with complex matters within the force grow over the years.
Instead of solving the problems mentioned, the government chooses to replace the leadership and thereby give a certain political meaning to these important institutions.
The fact that chiefs of police are changed so often does not benefit the force. The respect that the lower ranks should have for the chief of police must also be built up. Starting over every time doesn’t help at all. Especially when we look at the trend that a new chief of police nowadays coincides with a new government. We must all ensure that an organization such as the police, and its leadership, becomes a political instrument.
This also applies to an institution like the army. Commander Mitchell Labadie was sworn in on Friday and took over the leadership of this important institution from Werner Kioe A Sen, who was appointed commander in 2022. No explanation has been given about Kioe A Sen’s replacement. He is a young man who is no longer a commander, but is still a soldier. How will such a person function within the army? The same goes for former police chief Isaacs, who is far from the end of his career.
It often comes down to the fact that these officials – depending on the political leanings of the government that appointed them – are added to the army of advisors that are called up and deployed from time to time. In the case of Isaacs and Kioe A Sen, these are people who are no longer deployed consistently in the middle of their career.
This government had promised to govern the country differently. There would be a #kenki – change. Yet so far, and especially in the policy regarding staffing and appointments, we continue to see that this change is absolutely not getting off the ground. The Police Force has many problems for which management has consistently drawn attention. This also applies to the army.
Instead of solving the problems mentioned, the government chooses to replace the leadership and thereby give a certain political meaning to these important institutions. It is not this government that invented that, but the one that promised that things would be different. Unfortunately… we remain the same.
