Making it clear that he is committed to ensuring that the media has access to him, President David Granger said last Friday that he will consider holding a press conference but will continue to engage journalists when he meets them at functions.
Granger made it clear that he has been engaging the media “frequently” through various means, thereby ensuring that questions are answered and the public is provided with information.
“I don’t have an objection to having a larger press conference. I have a very busy schedule… and it is very difficult to spend a lot of time with the media and I try to make it possible every week but if that is the desire of the Guyana Press Association, that can be arranged with my press team,” he said.
He was asked when his next press conference will be held and if it will become a regular feature of 2017. Since his election, Granger has held only one press conference, which was in October of 2015.
He noted during ‘The Public Interest,’ which was broadcast on Friday, that the purpose of a press conference is to allow journalists to meet with the Head of State to find out his thoughts on a variety of subjects. He said that this is something he has been doing “faithfully,” while expressing uncertainty that other presidents both in Guyana and abroad, “engage the press as frequently as I engage the press. I try to make it as regular as possible and the function is to provide information to the public.”
According to the President, all journalists have access to him for most of the year. “I have been very faithful in answering the questions which have been asked of me and I think that is a good way to go. When the need arises, I don’t mind engaging the whole press but it does not necessarily mean that my engagement of one or two persons is inferior to my engagement of four or five persons or ten or twenty persons,” he said.
The important thing now, he added, is that the media has access to the Head of State and he will answer questions posed to him.
Noting that Stabroek News is a credible newspaper and he does not dictate what it writes, he said that he sees nothing wrong with the ‘Public Interest’ format. “I quite like it actually,” he said.
Nonetheless, he added that he will take into consideration that members of the media want a press conference, not a “one on one.”
The Ministry of the Presidency, in a press release issued shortly after the programme was aired, said Granger will continue to make media engagement opportunities available, since it is critical that the people of Guyana are adequately informed so that they can be empowered to be involved in the development and management of the country and its resources.
The release said that among these avenues are requests for interview through the Press and Publicity Unit, Ministerial Press Conferences, Presidential Press Conferences, `The Public Interest’ and engagement at public forums.
Former Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran earlier this month called on Granger to hold a press conference to explain the government inconsistencies on the Norconsult report on the viability of the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP) and to address other important issues.
