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In September the installation of the Special Tripartite Consultation with representatives of the employees’ organisations, employers’ organizations and the government took place.
The government then appointed Prof. Dr. Marten Schalkwijk – then secretary of the Tripartite Consultation in 1994 – was asked to chair the new consultation. Willem de Miranda was appointed as secretary, who in 1986 was involved in an earlier attempt to reach a Social Agreement.
President Santokhi announced last week that Prof. Schalkwijk hands over the chairmanship of the Tripartite Consultation to Mr. William de Miranda. The head of government indicated that Schalkwijk’s strengths and expertise would be deployed elsewhere for the benefit of the country and the people.
Professor Schalkwijk has full confidence in De Miranda. “He has broad support and is able to lead the consultation and deliver a good result for the first evaluation moment in March 2022,” said Schalkwijk.
De Miranda, who until recently was in charge of secretary in the body, has been involved from the start in reaching a social agreement. He is convinced that he can provide good leadership to the consultative body for the recovery of the Surinamese economy.
During a deliberation of the Special Tripartite Consultation at the Cabinet of the President on 23 December 2021, the head of state emphasized the importance of a thorough start and implementation of the IMF program. In addition to the cluster team of ministers designated to coordinate the Tripartite Agreement, it is supported by the consultative bodies, ie; representatives of the business community, the private sector and the trade union movement.
Implementing the IMF terms so that the country’s leadership can direct them for the periodic review is one of the crucial aspects of the support. The president urged the cluster team to pay close attention to the policy areas, ie the Recovery Plan, the tight IMF program and the National Risk Assessment.
“We must have achieved the targets before the first evaluation moment in March of next year. We cannot afford not to have the policy areas in order, as this will have disastrous consequences for the IMF agreement. One of the consequences of not completing the first evaluation moment is that we could be disqualified and that the agreement will come to an end,” the head of government warned. program will be implemented effectively.
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