THURSDAY (TODAY) IS it was exactly one year ago Jennifer Geerlings-Simons in Suriname at the helm came up as the first female president of Suriname. Her appointment raised a lot of expectations and provided the necessary hope that things would soon improve in the country that has been plagued by crises for more than ten years. Now that her honeymoon is behind us, a first, sober assessment can be made.
Her biggest challenge lies in the socio-economic field. Although the exchange rate shows some stability, society still suffers daily from persistent inflation, which significantly affects purchasing power. On the other hand, initiatives such as subsidies to keep petrol affordable and the activation of the National Housing Fund are commendable, but for the average citizen the tangible results are still meager. The promised ‘repairs’ of health care and education have not yet materialized, while these should be treated as a priority.
Other headache files, such as the (land) rights of the indigenous people and the corruption issue, still lie like a heavy burden on her shoulders.
In addition, the broad government coalition remains a political minefield. Maintaining unity requires a lot of energy, which sometimes seems to be at the expense of the actual speed of implementation of vital reforms. In this light, there is still the danger of the resource curse in view of the large oil and gas revenues from 2028.
The national roadmap announced by Geerlings-Simons must therefore quickly become concrete to guarantee that future wealth reaches every Surinamese, and not just a select elite. Other headache issues, such as the (land) rights of the indigenous people and the corruption issue, still weigh heavily on her shoulders.
There is at least one big difference compared to her predecessor Chandrikapersad Santokhi; his ego was so big that after the first year he proudly showed off the supposed achievements of his government, including a real publication in which some things were recorded. And many more would follow after that. We should not expect this from Geerlings-Simons, who seems to have more of his feet on the ground. That is absolutely to her credit.
Moreover, over the past year she has proven – despite her shortcomings and the mistakes she makes – to be a capable and steadfast leader who seeks national consensus. It has brought some stability, but the future of the country is still very uncertain.
Much will depend on whether she can persevere and, for example, succeed in defeating poverty. Her vision for a sustainable welfare society is solid on paper; the second year of government will have to show whether she has the decisiveness to convert these paper promises into tangible prosperity for the people.
