The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries together with paddy farmers, millers and exporters are setting up a working structure in which agreements, follow-up and points of contact are clear. Minister Mike Noersalim traveled with his team, parliamentarian Ebu Jones joined in and the premise was reiterated, the government does not determine the paddy price, which arises from supply and demand between farmer, processor and buyer, while LVV does facilitate, mediate and remove bottlenecks. The fear that a low paddy rice price puts the sowing season under pressure and thus affects the entire chain from farmer to export, brought concrete themes to the table, from properly certified seed at ADRON to maintenance of irrigation and drainage and reinforcement of wet and dry infrastructure, with William Waidoe as the official point of contact in Nickerie so that agreements made do not remain up in the air but are followed and secured.
In the same vein of building basic skills, the energy sector showed itself in traffic, TotalEnergies E&P Suriname completed a program with the Henarutant Foundation and the Corps Suriname Verkeersvrijwilligers (Traffic Volunteers) that took root at eighteen schools, twenty-eight teachers and one hundred and sixty students have been trained as traffic wardens and help make safe crossing possible on a daily basis. Appreciation went out emphatically to the support of Education, Justice and Police and the Traffic Safety Institute, revealing a simple practical lesson, safety doesn't start with asphalt or fines but with attitude and routine, those who teach that early reap peace on the streets and trust with parents later.
At the same time, the integrity debate got sharpness where it belongs, in the heart of the public sphere. NPS parliamentarian and former police union president Poetini Atompai argued that checks on origin of assets for police officers are defensible, but credibility only grows when parliament, government and the inner circle around politicians pass the same test. Corruption erodes a country was his key phrase, every SRD that leaks out pays the common man, so investigate what the law dictates, show consistency and start where the example is the greatest, that way you prevent a discussion about expensive cars from ending in selective outrage and support for real surveillance does not evaporate at the gate.
NV Grassalco presented the children's book Sharik on a school trip to Grassalco, with coloring pages and short texts showing what the company does and its values. Acting President Gregory Russia accepted the first copy, spoke encouragingly to children and supported the plan to distribute the book through libraries and schools to the interior of the country, because those who awaken early curiosity about technology, organization and care for environment will later get employees and entrepreneurs who know how a chain works and why rules are not obstacles but backbones.
On the larger stage, an equally clear but calm message about the past and future resounded. President Jennifer Geerlings Simons reiterated upon her return that talks of reparations do not belong in the window of the jubilee, recognition of slavery and its repercussions in the present is important and Suriname supports the Caricom ten-point plan, but the energy goes to reparations at home with education, work, health and living together on one's own feet, those who continue to wait for money from others park ambitions, those who work forward can join later on an equal footing when the region as a whole speaks. That Willem Alexander's state visit is expected shortly after fifty years of Srefidensi, and that Prime Minister Dick Schoof is doing his best to be present on November twenty-five, underscores that respect and relationship can grow without the core of the anniversary being taken over by other agendas.
