The gas prices in Suriname are going up again, and things are looking bleak for the majority of people it seems. It seems like I wrote about the last increase just yesterday, but it's been a few weeks now. Back then I predicted that another one would follow, and sadly I was right. The government is slowly removing all subsidies it was providing on gas pricing, in an attempt to balance the already bad economy due to blatant corruption and the pandemic effect on top of that.
I'm sitting here thinking how people even manage to pay this each day nowadays. The price per liter is now SRD 22 and some cents, which is our local currency. That's about 1 USD per liter for basic gasoline. This might not seem like much, but when you take into account that the average salary is probably somewhere between $150 and $200, the perspective changes real quick.
Another reason they have to remove subsidies, is because presumably people are buying up the cheaper gas locally to then sell it at a profit to our neighbors across the borders. That's the problem with corrupt border patrol, money talks, and with the right amount anyone can get right with anything.
Sometimes it saddens me to say how this country is going downhill faster than a perfectly round boulder. But then other times I see the same people who complain about it defend the government who is responsible, and then I am indifferent to it. Nonetheless, we always feel at least a bit of patriotism towards the place we were born and brought up. In the end we can deal with it, try to make a change, but most importantly make sure that our family is well taken care of and that we find happiness in the little things.
