In a bizarre case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, the Region Four administration yesterday disputed the contents of a press statement issued by the Ministry of Communities on the postponement of planned capital works.
The statement, titled “Capital Projects Were Cut in Region # 4 due to PPP’s Actions,” was carried in the Sunday Stabroek, under the headline “Region 4’s major capital works postponed until next year, REO says.
The statement, which was disseminated by the official Ministry of Communities email, stated that several projects, including the construction of several roads and schools in Region Four, would be put on hold until next year and a former Regional Executive Officer (REO) was identified as the author.
However, at the press briefing, Regional Chairperson Genevieve Allen stated that the Stabroek News headline was erroneous and called for a retraction, while she bemoaned the fact that the newspaper did not call the regional administration to verify the claims before publishing them.
“The publication… should have done some detailed investigation before printing such an erroneous statement and that statement should be retracted.” she said.
Acting REO Ameena Hinds stated that rather than being postponed, several of the listed projects would be started this year, including the reconstruction of Golden Grove Secondary, reconstruction of Peter’s Hall Primary as well as the extension of the Triage and Observation Unit, the Intensive Care Unit and the Delivery Room at Diamond Regional Hospital.
Further, Allen specifically informed the public that Rooplall is no longer REO of the region since his contract, which concluded on 7th July, 2015, was not renewed by the Ministry of Communities and could not speak on behalf of the region.
Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan, when questioned by Stabroek News yesterday at Parliament about the release, confirmed that it originated from his office.
According to Bulkan, the contents of the statement, while accurate, were misrepresented by this publication.
“[It is] not that it was postponed but that certain works were curtailed, the way it was presented in the papers was different from what the release says. The release is self-explanatory; the way it was presented in the paper conveys the wrong impression,” he maintained.
When asked why a release authored by the former REO was disseminated, Bulkan noted that when “the release was issued he [Deolall] was REO… some four or five weeks ago.” When asked why a dated release was disseminated without contacting the person now serving in the post, the minister directed that this newspaper return to the release for all relevant information as it was “self-explanatory.”
Meanwhile, Allen maintains that the contents of the release do not reflect her region’s plans for 2015.
“If we peruse what is in the budget document, we will note that it is different from what the release said,” she told Stabroek News after reading the ministry’s release and adding that the information was never shared with her.
In a comment, the Editor-in-Chief of Stabroek News Anand Persaud said the Ministry of Communities press release was accurately reported in the August 16th Sunday Stabroek and that it was evident that there was inadequate communication between the ministry and the region before the dissemination of the press release. Persaud said it was unclear why the Ministry of Communities was issuing a press release on behalf of the region which has a functioning council in place. Persaud that a similar release was issued by the ministry on August 10th on behalf of Region Seven which also has a functioning council.
