Suriname’s Minister of Finance and Planning Adelien Wijnerman has publicly acknowledged conflicting numerical discrepancies across three key government fiscal documents: the 2026 national budget, annual financial plan, and national debt schedule. The admission came during Friday’s parliamentary budget debate, after multiple members of the National Assembly raised questions about mismatched spending and revenue figures across the policy papers.
Wijnerman explained that the inconsistencies stemmed from the documents being drafted at separate time points, rather than intentional misreporting. She has committed to updating all conflicting figures and submitting revised versions of the documents to the National Assembly before the second round of budget deliberations gets underway. Government ministers will continue responding to parliamentary questions on Monday, with seven cabinet members having already spoken to lawmakers as of Friday’s session.
The minister laid out the core 2026 fiscal projections to the assembly, confirming that total state revenues are forecast at roughly 65 billion Surinamese dollars (SRD), while total annual expenditures are projected at approximately SRD 77 billion. This produces a projected budget deficit of SRD 12.8 billion, equal to 5.1% of the country’s gross domestic product.
Wijnerman also noted that Suriname’s current debt-to-GDP ratio remains above the legal cap of 60% set by national law. Under recent legislative changes, the country has until the end of 2029 to bring the national debt back down to the 60% threshold. The government plans to meet this target through a combination of scheduled debt repayments, constrained fiscal deficits, sustained economic growth, and prioritizing financing from multilateral and bilateral institutional sources.
For the second half of 2026, the minister projected total debt service obligations will reach roughly SRD 9.8 billion. Around SRD 6 billion of that total will go toward foreign interest payments and principal repayments, while SRD 4 billion will cover domestic debt obligations. Wijnerman added that approximately 19% of the government’s total projected 2026 revenue will be allocated to debt interest and repayment costs.
She clarified that all funds reflected in the current debt plan are tied to previously finalized loan agreements, not new borrowing. The funds are earmarked for program-related spending in the 2026 fiscal year. The updated national debt plan will be submitted to parliament alongside the revised budget documents ahead of the next debate round.