Minister Resigns Over "Birthday Party Scandal"

UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000131

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR WHA/CAR - LLUFTIG, MBUFFINGTON, INR FOR BCARHART

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL NS
SUBJECT: Minister Resigns Over "Birthday Party Scandal"

REF: Paramaribo 00120


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Accused of spending state funds for her
birthday party (reftel),Minister of Transport, Communication, and
Tourism Alice Amafo resigned on Tuesday, March 13th. Portions of
her own party grouping, the Maroon-based A-Combination, refused to
support her. This spared President Venetiaan a wrenching decision
of whether to risk public outrage by standing by Amafo, or risk
bringing down the coalition by standing up to the A-Combination.
END SUMMARY

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Offers resignation but takes no responsibility
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2. (SBU) The disgraced Minister of Transport, Communication, and
Tourism (TCT),Alice Amafo, announced her resignation during a press
conference Tuesday, March 13. At the press conference Amafo and
leading A-Combination member Ronny Brunswijk (with whom she is
widely rumored to be romantically involved),presented no evidence
to refute allegations that Amafo's 30th birthday party was financed
for at least U.S. $12,850 out of TCT's budget. However, Amafo did
not concede to the allegations either, instead using proverbs and
biblical references to say that others undermined her and did not
want to see her succeed. Brunswijk, too, asserted that Amafo had
done absolutely nothing wrong. Both cast a large portion of the
blame on the press and spoke of "manipulation." President Venetiaan
was less nuanced in accepting Amafo's resignation before parliament
an hour later: he said that although it appeared to him that the
birthday party was intended as a "surprise" for Amafo and that he
believed she was not aware of how it was being financed, a Minister
must be knowledgeable about such matters within his or her own
Ministry. The matter will be investigated, and Amafo remains
vulnerable to being charged in a criminal court.

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Murky coalition machinations
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3. (U) According to rumor and anonymous press sources, the
A-Combination was not unified in support of Amafo, whose
qualifications have been publicly questioned. It appears that most
of the eight parties in the governing coalition refused to stand
behind Amafo; Brunswijk expressed disappointment and said he had
expected more solidarity. However, the lynch-pin in the matter was
likely a lack of support for Brunswijk and Amafo within Brunswijk's
own Maroon-based A-Combination, which is itself a grouping of three
Maroon parties. While Brunswijk is the A-Combination's most
important figure, his General Interior Development Party (ABOP) has
only his one seat in parliament. Another member of the grouping,
Brotherhood and Unity in Politics (BEP),outnumbers Brunswijk in
parliament seats by four to one, and its leader and Deputy Speaker
of Parliament, Caprino Alendy, is influential in his own right.
Newspapers suggested it was Alendy who refused to risk
A-Combination's future by supporting Amafo.


4. (SBU) COMMENT: The public is dissatisfied with the current
government, and retaining the Minister would have made matters
worse. Many Surinamers, especially the opposition, are awaiting an
issue which will force the government from power. Thus, President
Venetiaan and the government were spared a wrenching and perhaps
coalition-breaking showdown with the A-Combination thanks to the
A-Combination's own internal dissent. This incident will continue
to erode the waning public trust in Venetiaan's fragile coalition,
but much more would have been lost if the coalition had stuck by the
controversial Amafo. END COMMENT