IT STARTS LIKE THIS gradually starting to look like a real farce. However, in the end, there will be very few Surinamese people who can really laugh about the possible arrival of the much-discussed religious community of the Mennonites. It will at most be a few people who have a financial one nyan strike out, the rest will cry.
There is no openness whatsoever on the part of the government, intermediaries and the Mennonites themselves and they mainly beat around the bush (read: the truth). The previous government was forced to keep Mennonites living in secluded colonies out after protests from society. President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons said when she took office that she was not aware of any new developments.
So either Blokland’s story is not correct or NDP Minister Mike Noersalim of LVV is concealing matters that the head of state should know.
However, she has recently spoken out critically about the issue. On Radio ABC she said her government has no contracts or agreements with the Mennonites. However, that is at odds with the claims made by Lionel Blokland of the Braganza Marketing Group last week the True Time.
He represents the interests of the Mennonites, together with the Dutch entrepreneur Ruud Souverein. Blokland said that on January 13 this year three cooperation agreements between the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (LVV) and the Braganza Marketing Group have been drawn. The government wants to strengthen national food production, reduce imports and position Suriname as an agricultural export player within the region and beyond.
As far as we know, the government technically has no direct agreements with the Mennonites, but all indications are that Braganza Marketing Group wants to bring in the group as ‘international experts’ for the production that this company says it wants to achieve.
The ambition has also been expressed again to transform Suriname into the ‘food shed’ of the Caricom. A crucial aspect is the involvement of international experts, including Mennonites. Their participation should contribute to ‘knowledge transfer and increase in productivity within the Surinamese agricultural sector’, according to Braganza.
State land will be made available ‘under strict conditions’ and on a temporary basis ‘to achieve specific policy objectives’. In total, this concerns an area of 34,185 hectares, divided over two pilot areas: ten thousand hectares in Kabalebo and 24,185 hectares beyond Goliath.
However, this is in stark contrast to the promise of the previous government, which guaranteed that the government would not give land to the Mennonites, something that was also welcomed by the then opposition – with the NDP in the lead. There are now no critical comments from that party.
LVV has not yet publicized this agreement at all and apparently Geerlings-Simons is not aware of it either. At least, based on what Minister Mike Noersalim told her, she denied that the government has entered into an agreement with the Mennonites. So either Blokland’s story is not correct or NDP Minister Noersalim of LVV is concealing matters that the head of state should know.
The president emphasizes that the focus of her policy is currently on economic recovery and national unity, and she considers transparency surrounding land policy essential to counter speculation about the Mennonites. She will have to put an end to those speculations once and for all by laying all the cards regarding the Mennonite issue on the table.
Braganza does not wish to disclose who signed the agreements on behalf of LVV, and so far the ministry has not denied that these agreements exist. Only through full disclosure will society be reassured. Otherwise, the farce that has been dragging on for far too long will continue until the end of time.
