PARAMARIBO – The resignation of Juliette Colli-Wongsoredjo as director of the Fish Inspection Institute (VKI) was approved by...

Agriculture, Stock Breeding and Fisheries (LVV) Minister Mike Noersalim after the relations between management and the board of directors came under pressure. The minister explained that things got to the point where Colli-Wongsoredjo would temporarily be placed on mandatory leave because the board claimed that she was reluctant to cooperate with the plans aimed at screening the financial records of the VKI and because she also refused to share information. But before the director could be placed on mandatory leave, she handed in her letter of resignation.
Minister Noersalim assured that the departure of the director would not have a negative impact on the institute. “The operations are not guaranteed one hundred percent but one thousand percent,” said the minister who praised the contributions of Colli-Wongsoredjo and who added that she and her team have done good work for many years. Her term had been extended despite the fact t that she had already reached the retirement age a whole ago. The minister deemed it regrettable that the former director has become a topic of discussion in a way that does not do justice to her track record at the VKI. He also made it clear that the board is legally required to do its job. Although the bylaws give the board the right to suspend or fire the director it chose not to take any disciplinary measures but to place the director on mandatory leave so that the investigation could be carried out smoothly. “Before the board could inform the director, she handed in her letter of resignation because she had received the information from another source,” said the minister. Meanwhile the former director has pressed charges against the board and the minister of Fisheries over the defamation.