Dear Editor,
The letter of Malika Ramsey, who is also one of Minister of State Joe Harmon’s media/press personnel, shed some insight on the government communication strategy that contributes to negative perceptions and angst among the people, and allows the opposition PPP/C to walk all over the leadership (‘Press release on meeting with ministers came from PNCR headquarters’ SN, October 31, 2016).
The Guyana Chronicle came in for derision, having been accused of not being accurate in its coverage of the story of the PNCR Members of Parliament and PNCR government ministers holding meetings at Congress Place.
The last the nation knew, the state-owned Chronicle was under new management and the subject minister was Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo of the APNU+AFC government. Consequently tact would have advised that it was not smart communications tactics nor could political utility be derived in no less a place than the government’s policy wing, by taking the derisive approach.
Someone in the Ministry of the Presidency needs to pull Ms Ramsey aside and advise that the APNU+AFC is not the political opposition and the Guyana Chronicle is not under PPP/C management. It may also be prudent to point out that the minister in charge is right down the hall and a conversation could have been had with him or the newspaper to do a retraction and correction. This would be a more sensible approach in terms of venting and correcting.
That being said, the energy expended on the indignation directed at the newspaper would have been better spent revisiting the language and the content of the press release that had lent to the widespread impression that people are meeting government ministers at Congress Place, as against PNCR Members of Parliament who have set aside a particular date and time to meet with their constituents.
Yours faithfully,
Minette Bacchus
