She gave her assurance that the pressure on the people will not be increased. “I want to state explicitly that there will be no tax hikes in the next couple of months. We will focus on better processes and more efficient ways of collecting taxes,” said Minister Wijnerman who added that presenting a budget deficit has almost become a tradition in

Suriname.

“The budget will be presented with a deficit. That means that the discussion will be about the financing. How does one fill that hole?” Wijnerman pointed out that it would be important to improve the procedures and to beef up inspections to generate more income. On the one hand the government has to manage its income better and on the other hand it has to cover expenditures in phases. “We monitor the cash flow on a daily basis. One cannot pay everything all at once like in a household. One can only spend what one has. Nothing more,” said Minister Wijnerman who added that there will be no new taxes or tax hikes. “We do not want to put more pressure on the people. That is why we are looking for a solution in efficiency and inspections and not in tax hikes.” Minister Wijnerman acknowledged that the people are already being hit hard by external factors such as the fuel hikes and fluctuations on the foreign currency market. “The fuel prices keep going up and this has an effect on all expenditures. The developments on the foreign currency market also raise the costs. That makes it more challenging to keep the budget in balance,” said the minister.

A huge portion of the budget is swallowed by the monthly burdens which the government must cover. “The wages, salaries, subsidies, health costs, garbage collection and bus services are operational costs that one must keep paying regardless of how high the price of fuel is,” said the Minister who has asked her colleagues to cut all other costs whenever possible. A factor that complicated is the fact that the current administration has to cover old bills. “I often receive unpaid bills from colleagues. These unpaid bills from previous administrations place a huge burden on the budget and limit the space needed to plan ahead.” These structural delay in payments create tensions between the government and suppliers. “It has come to my understanding that many companies and organizations are still waiting for their money. But it is simply impossible to pay all the bills simultaneously. We make the payments in phases depending on the