MP lashes out at Suriname govt over corruption

(De Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO — Legislator, Carl Breeveld, did not go easy on the government last night in parliament during the budget debates. The DOE chairman lashed out at the government for failing to produce findings in corruption cases and the lax attitude in indicting suspects.
The legislator referred to the Carifesta financial fiasco, the After School Program and the wrongs that at the Ministry of Public (OW). Breeveld attacked the laxity of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (OM) which fails to investigate the corruption cases stating that corrupt officials feel emboldened to continue committing their crimes.
The legislator is happy with the improvements in the After School Program since the Ministry of Education took charge of the project personally. Still Breeveld would like to see the corrupt officials who stained the program to be indicted. Breeveld does not think the government can return to business as usual. He wonders where the SRD 70 million for the project went to. An investigation is definitely in place in the Carifesta issue where the budget unexplainably soared from SRD 17 million to SRD 34 million. Breeveld wondered if the suspects will ever be indicted, referring to the investigation president Bouterse promised last year. He argues that even the president suspected foul play. Breeveld did not spare the new youth legislators who dared to make their remuneration their first priority. There are suspicions that the Anti-Discrimination March of the past four years was marred by corruption.-.