During a Tuesday plenary session of Suriname’s National Assembly, opposition leader Rabin Parmessar of the NDP (Nationale Democratische Partij) has publicly condemned the government’s failure to crack down on widespread, long-running illegal gold mining operations across the country, warning that the activities are siphoning off hundreds of millions in state revenue that is critically needed for public investment.
Parmessar, speaking on the floor of the legislature, detailed findings from a recent working visit to the Pelin Bergi mining region, where he confirmed illegal gold extraction activities have operated continuously for at least six years without meaningful government intervention. The NDP leader emphasized that the Pelin Bergi site is not an isolated case, but rather symptomatic of a systemic problem affecting multiple mining locations across Suriname.
According to Parmessar, the cumulative loss of state revenue from unregulated illegal mining is substantial. He referenced a formal correspondence from Chinese mining firm Zijin Mining to Suriname’s Ministry of Oil and Gas that documented at least 40 million Surinamese dollars in confirmed state losses from one active illegal mining zone alone. The opposition leader pressed the government to outline concrete steps it will take to recover lost revenue and dismantle illegal operations operating across the country’s gold-rich interior.
Parmessar framed the lost revenue against the backdrop of the Suriname government’s ongoing severe fiscal challenges, pointing out the irony that the administration is currently planning to take on 30 million Surinamese dollars in new debt to fund waste collection and disposal infrastructure, while allowing hundreds of millions in legally owed state revenue from gold mining to leak away through unenforced regulations.
Notably, the NDP leader extended praise to the existing efforts of the Ordening Goudsector Suriname (Suriname Gold Sector Regulation Authority), which has already begun taking preliminary steps to curtail illegal activity. Parmessar closed his remarks by urging the government to deliver tangible, visible progress on eliminating illegal gold mining in the near term, to secure much-needed funding for core public priorities including education, healthcare, and national infrastructure development.