The establishment of a website for the posting of all government advertisements and notices may reduce the number of government ads appearing in the daily newspapers, Office of the Presi-dent Press Officer Kwame Mc Coy says.
When contacted yesterday, Mc Coy said that the website “may see a reduction in ads” in all daily newspapers. He said the government was moving towards e-governance so as to promote transparency. He said that placement of the ads and notices on a website would allow for them to be publicized for a longer time.
Stabroek News contacted Mc Coy after reports surfaced that the new website meant a curtailing of ads for the daily newspapers. Stabroek News has not received any advertising orders from the Govern-ment Information Agency (GINA) since Monday. The newspaper has since written to the GINA Advertising Unit seeking clarification as to the position with the placement of ads in the newspaper.
On Monday, a statement from the Office of the President said that government has established a website www.eprocure.gov.gy for such a purpose. The release said too that it will enhance accountability and transparency by displaying all current ads and notices according to sectors and categories while maintaining an inventory of past placements.
Last month the National Assembly passed the Pro-curement (Amendment) Bill 2010 to permit the publication of government procurement opportunities on a freely accessible website. During the debate on the bill, PNCR-1G MP Winston Murray said it is important that procurement opportunities also be published in the newspapers since this was the preferred method for some. Murray proposed that slight amendments be made in the bill to make sure that it is clear that the publication on the website would be in addition to publication in the newspapers. AFC MP Khemraj Ramjattan expressed similar concerns to those raised by Murray as to whether publication on the website will be done in addition to publication in the newspapers and suggested that a section of the bill be amended to ensure this was achieved.
Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, in wrapping up the bill, said that when determining the publication of the procurement opportunities, consideration will be given to what is the most relevant avenue.
The issue of the award of state ads has become a contentious one ever since 2007 when Stabroek News had all of its state ads pulled for a period of 17 months. No reason was given for this withdrawal but after SN went public with the cut-off, government officials and GINA then argued that it was the policy that the state paper would receive ads along with the privately-owned newspaper with the highest circulation. The Kaieteur News was then identified as this newspaper without the benefit of any analysis of circulation or sectoral preference. The placement of government ads in SN resumed in April 2008, without any official explanation being given.
However, in recent times the Kaieteur News (KN) has been getting fewer ads while the Guyana Times has seen an increase in the portion of state ads being received.