For this government, West African Ghana seems to be the new promised country that Suriname should emulate. Ghanaian guests who want to strengthen vocational education were enthusiastically welcomed by President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons and Minister Dirk Currie of Education, Science and Culture traveled to Africa while no one understood what he was going to do there. Meanwhile, Minister Melvin Bouva of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Cooperation (BIS) chatted with his Ghanaian counterpart about possible assistance in organizing the gold sector. But does that country really have something to offer that would benefit Suriname?
Text Armand Snijders
Image BIS & CDS
The relationship with Ghana is not new. The basis lies in the past, when tens of thousands of people were transported from there against their will or under false pretenses to various parts of the world, including Suriname, where they then had to do slave labor. Today, it is estimated that one fifth of the Afro-Surinamese population is a descendant of ancestors who came from what is now called Ghana (the former Gold Coast).
“But cooperation in combating corruption is not yet an option; that is probably too sensitive an issue for the government and it would rather not have any snoopers.”
Suriname has even had an embassy in the capital Accra since 2019, but many people wonder what it brings to the country. Ghana, in turn, has no permanent diplomatic representation in Paramaribo. However, the country was represented during the independence celebration in November 2025 by the (ceremonial) Ashanti king, who was received with all due respect by the Surinamese government.
So it is an exaggeration to say that both countries currently enjoy close ties. But this government may think: what is not yet may yet come. Then we will have to look at what both countries (want to) have an interest in.
Stable and promising economy
It is difficult to make a comparison between Ghana and Suriname. The African nation is 1.5 times larger in area than Suriname and has 55 times as many inhabitants (more than 35 million). And so many people in a relatively small territory create problems that come with such a country. Ghana is considered one of the most stable and promising economies in West Africa, where the living standards of its citizens have improved considerably in recent decades.
The economy is now one of the top ten on the African continent in terms of size. Growth of between 5 and 6 percent is even expected this year. The country is classified as a lower-middle-income country, while Suriname is classified as an upper-middle-income country. But many Surinamese will not feel this way, given the difficult crisis the country is still emerging from with sky-high inflation and the erosion of incomes – i.e. purchasing power. By the way, economic growth of 3.7 percent is expected for Suriname.
Reliable partner
The fact that the Surinamese government is now making efforts to boost cooperation with Ghana is to be welcomed. Especially against the background of increasing unrest in the rest of the world. The country is doing well in terms of political stability and democracy and is therefore a reliable partner that Suriname can benefit from.
However, the question is what the focus will be on and whether this has been properly thought through. In the field of education, for example, Suriname probably does not have much use for Africans. Education in the country has reached an all-time low and must be rebuilt from the ground up, and Ghana will not be able to contribute to this.
The fact that President Geerlings-Simons received a Ghanaian delegation last month to “strengthen, modernize and future-proof cooperation in the field of vocational education and to better prepare the labor market for the coming economic developments” therefore seems very premature. It was not announced whether this delegation came to Suriname spontaneously or at the invitation of the government. By withholding such information, the government fuels suspicion in society.
Mission Currie
Education Minister Currie recently traveled with a delegation to Ghana to do things there that had not been reported to the population in advance. After his return, he reported that, on behalf of the president, he took a look at the Design and Technology Institute, with the aim of training Surinamese students there, specifically aimed at the growing oil and gas sector. This should prevent the need to attract foreign workers on a large scale in the future.
That in itself is a noble goal, but former Education Minister Henry Ori (VHP) had also done something similar during the previous government period. He made a trip to distant Azerbaijan with a large delegation to learn from the Baku Higher Oil School. That would benefit Suriname a lot, but in the end the trip turned out to be just another fun trip without any results.
In the eyes of the skeptical public, the government is reinventing the wheel and it is feared that the Currie trip will ultimately be fruitless. Because Currie is not exactly a minister who knows how to tackle things and achieve results. The NPS minister is having great difficulty finding solutions to the immense problems in education in his own country.
He is also said to have spoken in Ghana to strengthen ties in the field of (organization of) the gold sector, among other things. Suriname could benefit from this, given the Ghanaian experiences with this. It is one of the three most important pillars of the economy (alongside cocoa, oil and gas) and has already been cleaned up considerably, while Suriname is hopelessly behind in this regard. But Currie has no affinity with that whatsoever, so one can honestly ask whether those conversations yielded anything concrete.
Fortunately, during the same period, BIS Minister Bouva bumped into his Ghanaian colleague Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa during one of his many trips to Bogotá, Colombia, and made agreements with him to work towards “a joint roadmap for the period 2026-2029”. Consideration was given to concrete cooperation in the field of organizing small-scale gold mining, with the exchange of experiences via the Ghana Gold Board. That still sounds very vague, but it is at least more concrete than what Currie was able to say.
Anti-corruption
Ghana is doing considerably better than Suriname when it comes to tackling corruption. Although it is still a persistent problem, Ghana is performing relatively well compared to many other African countries. According to the most recent data from Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2025, the country scores 43 out of a hundred points. This puts it in 76th place out of 182 countries surveyed worldwide. For comparison: Suriname takes the 96th position with 38 points.
“However, the question is what the focus will be on and whether this has been properly thought through. In the field of education, for example, Suriname probably does not have much use for Africans.”
Ghana, for example, has a so-called Office of the Special Prosecutor. This is an independent body specifically set up to investigate and prosecute high-level corruption, separate from the politically controlled Public Prosecution Service. That would also be an idea for Suriname to guarantee the independence of the judiciary in sensitive cases, so that action is actually taken.
But cooperation in combating corruption is not yet an option; that is probably too sensitive an issue for the government and it would rather not have any prying eyes. Of course, the people are not told this. The bourgeoisie has to make do with the stories about cooperation in the field of education, the gold sector and about how Ghanaian help can optimally benefit from the petrodollars. To this end, government representatives and other dignitaries will likely have to visit Accra regularly.
