Asabina: “Strengthening purchasing power is nonsense in Suriname”

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Ronny Asabina, leader of the BEP faction, believes that strengthening purchasing power is nonsense in Suriname. He shared this opinion during the discussion of the laws concerning salary increases for the three branches of government. Asis Gajadien, one of the initiators of the laws, indicated that the recent salary increase led to a shift in the wage ratio between the lowest and highest-paid civil servants from 1:8 to 1:3.
Gajadien said that integrating the purchasing power reinforcement into the salary would significantly improve the situation. However, Asabina disagreed with this reasoning, arguing that the minimum standard of living was better when the ratio was 1:8 compared to the current situation. Nowadays, the lowest salary in the government is SRD 4,600, which is even lower than the official minimum wage.
Starting in July, this amount will be raised to SRD 5,290 and in January to SRD 10,000, but Asabina questioned whether these increases would be sufficient, given the continuous rise in exchange rates. “Who can guarantee me that the exchange rate won’t rise further by January?” Asabina asked.
He emphasized that inflation and the rising cost of living in Suriname continue to erode purchasing power. “You can say that the loss of purchasing power is being reduced, but there is no real increase in purchasing power.”
Asabina illustrated his point by mentioning the explosive price increases for daily necessities. “When this government took office, an egg cost SRD 1, now it’s SRD 11. Fuel prices have risen from SRD 6.75 to around SRD 40, an increase of over 500 percent. A gas cylinder used to cost SRD 45, now it’s SRD 300, and the bus fare has increased from SRD 1.75 to SRD 15,” he said. According to him, this reality cannot be ignored.
Additionally, Asabina warned that the situation has worsened with the introduction of the 5 percent VAT. “If you calculate that 5 percent VAT, you’ll see how much worse off you are,” he added. The BEP faction leader called for a clear and detailed numerical justification of the presented measures so that the impact on the purchasing power of the population can be better understood and substantiated.