Georgetown: Addressing the National Assembly Thursday, Prime Minister and First Vice President Moses Nagamootoo pledged the new administration’s support for true press freedom. The Prime Minister, who also holds the responsibility of Minister of Information, said that the new administration will make no attempt to curb the constitutional right of freedom of any media, including that of the state.
He however urged that information must be disseminated in a responsible manner that will “help, not destroy Guyana.” Moreover, the Prime Minister said that the right of reply must be catered for persons who “come under assault and attack” for their character or who suffer “threats of victimisation.”
This is the kind of professional journalism and journalists that the new administration is seeking to promote, and in the state media, Prime Minister Nagamootoo said. He promised that if this type of journalism is done, then the state media, will see less, and “perhaps ideally no interference” from him, as the Minister responsible for Public Information.”
He noted the already bipartisan turnaround of sections of the state in taking up this mandate of professionalism, adding that Guyana is witnessing, what appears to be a magical transformation of public information. He described as amazing the transformation in the Guyana Chronicle.
He pointed out that this state paper used to be saturated with editorial pieces that sought to divide and set Guyanese against each other. He noted that this paper which was used as a “partisan propaganda rod” has now turned “a bastion of public information that is credible.” “We have revolutionised this newspaper,” he said.
In moving forward, in further professionalising the state paper and television, the PM promised major shakeup at these entities and at the Government Information Agency (GINA). He said that National Communications Network (NCN) and the Guyana Chronicle will soon be getting new boards with professional representatives. He explained that these boards will be staffed by persons committed to professional standards, who will ensure that both the Chronicle and the NCN as public information media, not only carry out the function of informing, educating and entertaining people, but are also “accountable and reliable.”
He warned that the new administration expects that its state media will be viable business entities. “If you are not viable you will be pushed to the wall and where the chips fall, they fall…,” he said.
He explained that the “complete shake-up” at GINA will ensure that the entity functions as it should; as it was set up to, and that is as “a small professional body to tell Guyana and the world, what government, ministers, public servants…are doing for the people,” he said.
“…what should be placed in the public domain is information so that you have an informed public, that would make better choices and not fall prey to stigma of racism and the appeal to ethnicity and all other-side agendas that are not healthy for the forward movement of Guyana,” the Prime Minister explained..
He further stated that GINA must no longer be an agency that does things that are not in the domain of public information and that are within the narrow confines of political vendetta or political agenda to harass persons who do not share the opinion and the views of those in leadership.
He said too that the new administration will ensure that the advertisements that entities pay for GINA to place into the larger media are not sidelined to pay propaganda ads for political parties. He explained that this is the reason for the poor performance of GINA and why it has become a “heavy lead pulling down NCN and Chronicle.” The money paid to GINA to remit to the television and state newspaper has never been paid over, the PM said.
He explained further that an investigation is underway as to these outstanding payments including the huge sum owed to the Chronicle alone.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister announced that the administration will be moving to correct expeditiously the subject of the issuing of television licences to Linden.
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