(De Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – ‘Robert Ameerali has not lined his pockets at KKF [The Chamber of Commerce]. This man is a leader and he inspires entrepreneurship and patriotism. He does much for business and is making tons of money for the nation.’ Mitchel Tjin A Djie of Digicel and Henk Naarendorp of Nana Resources, defended acting president Ameerali after accusations of financial fraud aimed at the Vice President and the KKF management surfaced in the heat of the election campaign. The KKF board retorted harshly yesterday naming opponents for the upcoming elections for the board, led by Shaam Binda, as the culprits running the smear campaign. This case has caught the attention of opposition politicians, who called on President Desi Bouterse and Parliament Speaker Jennifer Simons to intervene. At a press conference yesterday, the incumbent KKF board tried to rebut accusations by the Binda side. Narpat Bissumbhar, KKF chairman said that there was nothing wrong with cooperation agreements Ameerali signed in 2004 as KKF chairman with internal foundations, which he also headed. ‘Legally there is nothing wrong with those agreements and the Trade and Industry Minister back then had given his approval’, said Bissumbhar. He denied accusations that the Busos Foundation earned 80 percent of the revenues of the Industry Fair while KKF got a meager 20 percent. ‘It’s the other way around,’ said Bissumbhar who had accountants reports available to back his statement. The Binda side had argued that annual reports were never made public, but Trade and Industry refuted those arguments, stating that the reports have been produced regularly and that there were no irregularities.
