SURINAME – Judge Maytrie Kuldipsingh who presided over the drugs in charcoal case on Monday sentenced  DJ to four years in prison. The defendant was also given a SRD 8,000 fine. If he does not pay the fine, he will have to spend an additional twelve months in the state penitentiary. DJ was reportedly caught red-handed at the airport. He had reportedly hidden cocaine in charcoal. DJ mentioned several names of people who had allegedly given him the drugs…[+]

SURINAME – A man was arrested on Monday after seven people had pressed charges against him. The aggrieved parties claim that Bakhus has swindled them. Reports indicate that the suspect allegedly swindled a goldsmith out of more than SRD 100,000. He had reportedly ordered and received several gold jewels. He claimed that he would pay the goldsmith afterwards…[+]

SURINAME – Anybody who wants to purchase a bunch of eggplants, leafy vegetables, a few tomatoes and other vegetables at the market will have to pay at least SRD 5 or more. Vegetables that are cheaper than SRD 5 are reportedly of lower quality. “The prices will stay high for now,” said Wim Bajnath, agrarian and chairman of the Kwatta Cooperative Society. “A little bit of rain does not necessarily mean that the prices will drop…[+]

Prior to its grand opening next year, Rudisa Motor Company N.V. on Thursday night officially announced to be the dealer of the very renowned brand Mercedez Benz in Suriname and Guyana. According to Anand Pherai, director of Rudisa, Motor Company, the slogan of his company has always been: “The sky is the limit.” This time we went into the sky and caught a star and took it back to the earth, said the very successful director. He told his audience that Rudisa is Mercedes Benz’ third representative in Suriname…[+]

SURINAME – The government will spend less money next year thanks to the upgraded oil refinery of the State Oil Company Suriname (Staatsolie). The Central Bank of Suriname (CBvS) has calculated that starting in 2015 the balance of payments will improve with 2 % of the Gross National Product. This means that the government will get to save more than $ 300 million every year…[+]

Preparations for the 2015 budget debate have started in the National Assembly (DNA). Some permanent parliamentary committees have already held preliminary meetings to discuss the concepts, which were submitted by president Desi Bouterse for the public DNA meetings. I have scheduled these for December, says Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, DNA chairwoman, about the budget debate…[+]

SUIRNAME – “Being merry and sympathetic towards others are two of the main aspects during the Christmas holidays,” said Major Vilence Thomas, general manager of the Salvation Army, during the launch of the Red Kettle campaign at the Vailliantsplein on Friday. The official part of the launch of the launch was not over yet but passersby already started putting their donations in the red kettle…[+]

SURINAME – 30-year-old AM was recently arrested on drug trafficking charges. The suspect who told the police that he is a taxi driver had brought a box to a local post office. Customs officer reportedly found 16 cocaine wraps in two packages of salted fish. The suspect told investigators that he had brought a few people from Albina to Paramaribo…[+]

According to the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which recently concluded the Article IV consultation1 with Suriname. Suriname’s macroeconomic conditions weakened in 2013 as gold and oil prices declined. With those prices falling below recent peaks, the large fiscal and external sector exposures to the mineral sector continued their deterioration in 2013, along with a significant decline in international reserves. Thus, the main challenges the authorities are addressing continue to be to strengthen institutions and adjust policies to reverse the recent deterioration and strengthen external stability…[+]

SURINAME – Statistics indicate that there are already 9,200 cars with a PE license plate on the public roads. This means that there are only 800 PE license plates left. Dhiradj Soekhai, acting chairman of the Association of Car Importers in Suriname, told Times of Suriname that it is expected that sales will drop because  there are many people who will not buy a car until after the PF license plates have been introduced. “That was also the case the last time.”…[+]