The pumping stations will remain closed until a definitive solution is reached. They want to get a ‘fair share’ when looking at what the oil companies receive, Guno Castelen, chairman of the Surinamese Service Station Operators Association (SSEB), told Suriname Herald.

After the SSEB took action last night, the director of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation (EZ) wrote a letter to the oil companies regarding the low profit margin.

Castelen indicates that the director of EZ got in touch with him and then sent an official letter to the oil companies about the profit margin. There is already an agreement on the profit margin after sales. One third is intended for the retailer and two thirds for the pump holder. However, the oil companies do not adhere to this. This issue has been going on for some time and the SSEB has raised this issue more than once.

Another concern of the SSEB is the SRD 0.50 discount that the government has introduced to accommodate the people. Unfortunately, no settlement has yet taken place with the retailers. Currently, the profit margin of the pump operator is between SRD 0.16 and SRD 10.60. When the government announced the discount, the gas station operators had already bought their supplies. This concerns stocks of between 40,000 and 70,000 litres. The government take has already been paid by then. There is no clarity on this yet.

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