Cabinet accepted the advice of an inquiry into matters pertaining to the broadcasting authority that its Chairman Leonard Craig should be dismissed but Craig resigned today before he was sacked.
This was disclosed today in a statement by the PM’s office.
The statement follows:
Prime Minister Hon. Moses V. Nagamootoo, has been given the green light by Cabinet to act upon findings of the Inquiry into the allegations made against certain members of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA). The Inquiry was headed by Major General (Rtd.) Joseph Singh, MSS. One of the findings is that Mr. Leonard Craig be relieved of his position as GNBA Chairman.
The Prime Minister was in the process of notifying Mr. Craig of Cabinet’s decision, when he received an email dated 16th December, in which Mr. Craig tendered his resignation as GNBA Chairman, with immediate effect.
In accepting his resignation, the Prime Minister expressed disappointment that Mr. Craig has taken no responsibility for his role in attacks on the character of two members of the Board, namely, Messrs. Victor Insanally and Anthony Vieira.
Upon receipt of Maj. Gen. Singh’s report, the Prime Minister had caused copies to be laid in Cabinet for its consideration. He also served copies on the Chairman and members of the GNBA Board, and circulated same to the media.
In the absence of the Chairman and one member, the Prime Minister met with other members of the GNBA’s Board, who expressed their lack of confidence in the Chairman.
Based on the findings of the Singh Inquiry, the Prime Minister communicated to Board members the following:
- that the characters of Board members, Mr. Insanally and Mr. Vieira, were impugned by public statements attributed to GNBA Chairman, Mr. Craig;
- that the Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana disassociates itself from those statements and accepts the Inquiry’s finding that, on the evidence, neither of the two members was found to be dishonest or corrupt;
- that further, the conduct of the Chairman and one other member, Mr. Vieira, contributed to divisive and hostile relationships at GNBA, which tended to bring the Authority into disrepute, and for which Mr. Craig ought to be relieved of his post as Chairman and Mr. Vieira be reprimanded.
In the premises, and in view of the resignation by Mr. Craig, the Prime Minister expresses regrets over the attacks against the good name and integrity of Messrs. Insanally and Vieira, and sincerely thank them both for their selfless contribution to the work of the GNBA in particular and to broadcasting/communication in general.
The Prime Minister also feels that Mr. Craig in an invaluable intellectual asset who had accepted nomination to the GNBA with enthusiasm and commitment, but has unfortunately mishandled inter-personal relations with other colleagues. The Prime Minister wishes Mr. Craig success in his post-graduate studies in the People’s Republic of China.
The Prime Minister looks forward to further engagement with the remaining members with a view to expeditiously re-constituting the GNBA Board, and looks forward to their cooperation to bring this about.