January 6, 1999
According to CLO secretarie Ronald Hooghard, 100% salary increase will not be enough to make the salaries of the civil workers solvent. This should be 180%. Hooghard referred to the devaluation of the Suriname guilsder and the different exchange rates on the market. The fixed rate is 710 but the market rate varies between 740-750. The CLO would therefor like the government to bringthe salaries further in time beforew moving on to corrections. They would like to help the government to get out of this chaotic situation. On Thursday the CLO and the teachers unions BVL and Fols will meet with the minister of Interal Affairs, Education and Social Affairs to discuss salary increases and the SZF matter.
Henk Goedschalk, chairman of the Central Bank has been chosen as the first vice-chairman of the ISDB at a recent year meeting of the Islamic Development Bank. Goedschalk who is also governor of the ISDB will represent Suriname from this month on in the presidentship of this organisation. Suriname became an official member of the ISDB on Novermber 25 1997. The presidentship of which Goedschalk is now a member can influence tha approval of all projects that have been presented by the 53 ISDB country members. Next month a deligation of this bak is expected to arrive in Suriname for discussions of projects.
US Ambassador Dennis Hays has distributed to 7 thousand children a late x mas present that were donated by kids in the USA to third world countries. Educative materials, toys, clothes and sweets were packed in "christmas shoeboxes", and were shipped via a christian Evagelist group called "Samaritans Purse" to the different countries.