(VHP) made it clear that his party would not only have to be part of the ruling coalition but that it would also have to haul in enough parliamentary seats to claim the Ministry of Land Policy during negotiations with other coalition partners.

He pointed out that the VHP has existed more than 70 years but that it never got to run the Ministry of Land Policy when it was part of a ruling coalition. “We finally have half a minister,” said Santokhi who referred to Sieuwkoemar Ramsukul who became the first ever deputy minister of Land Policy in December 2024. Santokhi explained that many lots where allocated in a short period of time. “After May 25th we want more seats in order to lay claim to that ministry and to solve the problems structurally.”

The chairman of the VHP strongly criticized the way things are currently going at the Ministry of Land Policy and Forest Management. This ministry is currently being run by coalition partner ABOP. President Santokhi also mentioned widespread corruption and conspiracies between land inspectors and land surveyors. Notaries are also involved in these fraudulent acts. Nobody looks at their land deeds to check when they will expire but there are people who use a magnifying glass all day long to keep track of the expiration dates. “The biggest concern of VHP supporters is that they fear that their land will be stolen from under their nose. “You go to sleep and when you wake up the next day, you see people working on your land. We will remove that fear. All of the land that was allocated or taken unlawfully will be returned. That process has already started but some cases are difficult,” said the president who added that legal loopholes are being used to claim government land.

The VHP which is the biggest coalition party in the current administration made it clear that it wants to tackle these practices by taking more control over the land policy during its next term in office.