On Wednesday, a large blaze broke out once again in central Paramaribo, consuming the long-vacant former headquarters of insurance provider Clico on Klipstenenstraat. For years, this derelict structure has been informally occupied by vulnerable people, and local residents have raised repeated concerns about safety risks in the area – yet no action has ever been taken to address the issue. This is not an isolated event: just months earlier, a similarly devastating fire broke out at an abandoned property on the corner of Henck Arronstraat and Jessurunstraat, putting the entire historic inner city at risk of explosions and widespread destruction.
What we are seeing now is not a string of random accidents, but a dangerous, repeating pattern that threatens lives, destroys private and public property, and erodes the character of Suriname’s capital city, says Danielle van Windt, Deputy Minister of Social Affairs and Housing of Suriname, in a policy opinion piece calling for urgent systemic change. Anyone walking through greater Paramaribo can see the scale of the problem: dozens of properties lie empty, left to decay after decades of economic decline that has left owners unable or unwilling to maintain their buildings. But vacant, unmaintained property is never a neutral issue: it attracts unhoused people and people struggling with addiction, and creates fire hazards that put the entire surrounding community at imminent risk.
The Clico building is just one high-profile example of a widespread crisis. How many other unmonitored, unmaintained properties across the city are owned by absentee owners who refuse to take responsibility for their assets?
Van Windt emphasizes that the societal costs of this crisis go far beyond the immediate risk of fire. When unregulated occupation of derelict buildings becomes common, it creates a toxic mix of dangers: fire hazards, explosion risks, increased criminal activity, and a degraded urban landscape that directly contradicts Suriname’s national ambition to build a prosperous, attractive capital. Paramaribo aims to position itself as a modern, welcoming city that draws foreign investment and provides safe, livable communities for local families. But that goal is impossible to achieve as long as the inner city is allowed to decay into a zone of neglect and danger.
To address this systemic crisis, Van Windt has proposed the creation of a national registry of “high-risk” neglected buildings. Every vacant, abandoned property would need to be formally registered, and owners would be legally required to complete mandatory maintenance to bring structures up to safety standards. If owners fail to meet this obligation, the government would take over maintenance responsibilities, and gain the legal authority to repurpose the property for public use. Options include converting the buildings into affordable housing for people waiting on social housing waitlists, or renovating them through public works programs to provide market-aligned social rental housing.
This is not an unnecessary, luxury policy – it is an urgent necessity given Suriname’s ongoing severe housing shortage, Van Windt argues. While thousands of Surinamese families are desperately seeking stable, safe housing, dozens of viable buildings sit empty, derelict and dangerous across Paramaribo. Allowing this pattern of vacancy and neglect to continue is indefensible in the face of a national housing crisis. Every abandoned property should be repurposed for public good: it can be used for social rental housing, temporary shelter for unhoused people, or community-led projects. The status quo, where property owners evade their responsibilities and the broader public pays the price for their neglect, can no longer stand.
What strikes me most about this crisis is that local residents have been sounding the alarm for years, Van Windt says. Neighbors see the risks every day, live with constant fear of disaster, and have long dealt with the smoke, debris and uncertainty that come with nearby derelict buildings. For far too long, their voices have been ignored by policymakers. We acknowledge this failure, and we are now ready to take the first step toward systemic, structural change to fix this crisis. This is not about shifting blame – it is about taking responsibility and changing course to build a safer capital.
Suriname is ready to move forward. We want to be a nation that can be proud of its capital city. But that cannot happen as long as we allow the inner city to burn, both literally and metaphorically.
Addressing the crisis of homelessness must also be a core part of this new policy framework, Van Windt notes. We need targeted social policy to support this vulnerable group, going beyond purely punitive measures to provide shelter, supportive care, and pathways to stable long-term housing. At the same time, we must take a firm stance on neglected vacancy, because unregulated vacancy is not a private issue for owners – it is a public crisis that affects the entire community.
It is past time for policymakers to step up and take responsibility. It is time for the government to show it can learn from past mistakes. It is time to stop putting out individual fires and start building the structural policy we need to prevent disasters from happening in the first place. A registry of high-risk buildings, mandatory maintenance requirements for owners, and a formal repurposing framework for neglected properties – these are not radical ideas. They are common-sense steps for a city that takes the safety and well-being of its residents seriously.
The latest fire on Klipstenenstraat is a clear wake-up call, just as the fire on Henck Arronstraat was before it. How many more warnings do we need before we act? Paramaribo deserves better. Suriname deserves better. And the residents who live every day with the fear of the next major blaze deserve better. It is time for action. It is time for meaningful policy change. It is time to repurpose vacant buildings and return our capital city to the people who call it home.