Harvey Panka, Author at Caribbean Investigative Journalism Network

Harvey Panka

Harvey Milton Panka is a Surinamese senior journalist born, raised and living in Paramaribo. He has 27 years of experience in the field of broadcast journalism. Currently working at ATV-Suriname as a TV show host, news editor, program developper and producer. Born on the 23th of September 1972, he started his a career as a 2nd year law student from the Anton de Kom University of Suriname at the Suriname Television Foundation (STVS) in Paramaribo. After a year he became aware that Journalism was his true passion, so he quitted his study at the university to pursue a career in Journalism. He has done a lot of training and internships in his field, in Suriname, the Caribbean region, The Netherlands and China. He also holds a Bachelor of Art degree in Journalism and Communication. Harvey Panka is a lecturer at the Academy of Higher Arts and Culture Education (AHKCO) and President of the Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) and the past General Secretary of ACM. Also he served on the board of the Association of Surinamese Journalists(ASJ), as Treasurer. Also he serves on the board of the Trinitatis Lutheran Church as secretary.

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Oil Secrets of Suriname: Public Largely in the Dark as Offshore Dreams Deferred

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Harvey Panka | June 6, 2023

For the people of Suriname, offshore oil is supposed to be a game-changer. As they have struggled through a protracted economic crisis over the past decade, they have watched lucrative deep-water discoveries transform neighbouring Guyana. They have also heard their own leaders promise that a similar oil boom will come soon to Suriname, bringing badly needed jobs and wealth for the country’s more than 600,000 people and helping resolve a debt crisis that recently led to riots in the capital. But the people are still waiting. The Final Investment Decision for Suriname’s first deep-water drilling project has been deferred repeatedly, and mounting frustration with the delay has highlighted the secrecy surrounding the nascent industry.

“We should at least know what kind of contracts have been made, and don’t come up with stories that it’s confidential between us and [foreign oil companies],” Surinamese environmentalist Erlan Sleur told the Caribbean Investigative Journalism Network.

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