Ronnie Brunswijk, vice president (vp), stressed yesterday during his visit to the Brokopondo neighborhood that those in charge of bringing the hazardous cyanide into Suriname at the time cannot claim innocence in light of the current situation. He responded to political opponents’ accusations that the government was complicit in enabling businesspeople to exploit this hazardous substance for gold mining.
The vice president maintains that political opponents shouldn’t utilize this to cast blame for the current administration despite acknowledging the risks associated with utilizing these chemicals in gold mining. After learning that a businessman involved in gold mining may have been hoarding harmful chemicals close to residential areas, the district’s residents vented their outrage on Sunday. Now, numerous sources have attested to the absence of cyanide in the stored materials. The VP advises that the person in charge of clearing up his storage as soon as possible.
The VP even mentioned names of those who had previously advocated that consuming this chemical was advantageous, such as Simons and Sallons. Riad Nurmohamed, a former VHP member of parliament, had previously cited this information.
According to Brunswijk, the situation was already present in Brokopondo in 2018 when the current BEP chairman was present but did nothing. He said that, as a native-born person, he will never permit this to happen.
Brunswijk emphasized that no one should imply that the local administration is out to damage residents of the region because the same people were behind the predicament in the past. They were terrified when they had authority. According to Brunswijk, he will deliver both the report and the photographs requested at the time by the erstwhile opposition in parliament.
The vice president emphasized the need to take this matter seriously. Cyanide has been used in Suriname for ten years, according to former NDP assembly member and former mayor of Brokopondo Frederik Finisie, who was present with the vice president.
