“I am, of course, happy with the signing of the FID, but naturally, I also have my concerns,” says Lloyd Read, chairman of the Staatsolie Workers Organization Suriname (SWOS), to the editorial team of Suriname Herald. On October 1st, the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the development of the Gran Morgu offshore oil project was signed. The union leader understands the celebratory mood of some, but according to him, there’s still much work to be done.
Good governance
“On the other hand, I am glad that both the President, the Staatsolie director, and political parties continuously speak about ‘good governance’.” However, according to Read, it is essential that all parties involved adhere to the same definition of good governance. “When you hear some people talking about prudence and good governance, who really shouldn’t be saying it, you start to wonder: what should I expect then? That’s my point of concern.”
The SWOS chairman emphasizes that transparency is a crucial part of good governance. He, therefore, expresses concern over the fact that the full FID agreement has not been made public. “Guyana didn’t make it public for a while, but now it’s available on their website. It is important that our agreement is also made public so that the people—if something strange happens—can raise an alarm and take action.”
Sovereign wealth fund
According to Read, establishing an independent investment fund (sovereign wealth fund) for wealth stabilization is crucial to ensure future generations. Strict oversight is needed to make political interference in the fund nearly impossible. “We are using natural resources that also belong to future generations; we cannot consume everything. Legislation must be enacted to ensure that the fund is independent and accountable.”
Institutional strengthening
Read points out that various institutions still exhibit significant instability due to the erosion and weakening that has taken place. “If we look at the Court of Audit, we see that it has not been able to approve budgets and annual reports from Parliament, and this has been the case since 2020. If we look at the Central Bank, an important institution, we see that they are significantly behind with their annual reports. And then there’s the Bureau for Public Debt and the CLAD. These are all institutions that need to be strengthened.”
If Suriname wants to responsibly manage the substantial revenues from the offshore oil industry, according to the union leader, there is a lot of work to be done to strengthen these institutions.
Prosperity for all
The constitution states that natural resources should benefit the entire nation. “What also concerns me is the way the economy is being stimulated. This must be done in such a way that not only a select group of companies benefits from the billion-dollar investment but also other, including smaller, entrepreneurs,” said Read.
