After months of operating out of a shared temporary space, the newly created Paramaribo Midden district commissioner’s office in Suriname has officially moved into its own permanent headquarters, with district chief Ruchsana Ilahibaks announcing that resolving long-standing public complaints and clearing backlogged work will be the office’s top priority in the coming months.
The Paramaribo Midden district was created in September 2025 as the third administrative district for Suriname’s capital city, joining the previously existing Paramaribo North and Paramaribo South districts. Prior to this relocation, Ilahibaks and her 52-member staff had been working out of the Paramaribo North district commissioner’s office, a arrangement that limited the team’s ability to address the growing volume of public needs across its service area. On Monday, the team officially moved into the new facility, located on the grounds of Openbaar Groen at the intersection of Johannes Mungrastraat and Kernkampweg, made available with support from Stephen Tsang, Minister of Public Works and Spatial Planning.
Before the facility’s formal opening, Ilahibaks and her staff gathered for a joint prayer, standing hand-in-hand to affirm their commitment to centering community service in all their work. “The community is always welcome here,” Ilahibaks emphasized.
The new Paramaribo Midden district covers five key resort areas: Welgelegen, Flora, Tammenga, Weg naar Zee and Centrum. It also takes on administrative responsibility for four of the capital’s major markets: the Central Market, Vreedzaam Market, Kwakoe Market and Haitian Market. Ilahibaks noted that the creation of a third district for Paramarame fills a clear, long-unmet public need, as the existing two districts were stretched too thin to address the volume of resident requests and infrastructure concerns across the capital. “There are countless complaints and pending requests, and a huge amount of work remains to be put in order,” she said, confirming that these backlogged cases will move to the top of the new office’s agenda.
While the office now has its own dedicated physical space, it still lacks all the resources required to fully carry out its mandate. To close this gap, Ilahibaks said the Paramaribo Midden office will maintain close collaboration with the Ministry of Public Works and Spatial Planning, particularly for infrastructure work on tertiary roads and road verges.
Across Suriname’s 10 national districts, there are now 21 district commissioner positions in total. The largest concentration of posts is in Sipaliwini, which has five district commissioners appointed to serve the district’s large territory and geographically dispersed population.