The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) last night denounced information circulating on social media that it was in talks with the government to limit internet speeds during the recount of votes from the March 2nd general elections so that the spread of information could be contained.
“GTT hereby states that this statement is baseless, libelous and untrue. Such a statement is irresponsible and has severe national security implications. I have stated before – and will state again – that GTT as a private entity, is not politically inclined. We will work with all elected officials – and respect their various roles. We are independent in our corporate structure and do our best to support Guyana well beyond the provision of telecommunication services”, Chief Executive Officer, Justin Nedd was quoted as saying in a GTT statement.
Nedd said that the company was concerned at the swift sharing of the erroneous contents of the article via social media.
“In keeping with celebrating the freedom of information, it would be prudent to also appreciate the terms of such freedoms. Generally, this is to be shrouded in the pursuit of truth and fact – and speaks to the dissemination of balanced, accurate and credible information. While this is largely the responsibility of the media, our access to social media holds us all accountable to these principles. It is disappointing that persons unhesitatingly shared that article to create division and incite dissension.
“We are mindful also that our energies and collective efforts are needed elsewhere. There is a pandemic to manage – and far from withholding access to internet services, we have taken measures to make mobile services free to our medical frontliners, reduced rates for the business community, offered extra data to our mobile customers – and our MMG app is supporting the call to transact business from the safety of our homes. Additionally, in anticipation of increased demand, we increased internet capacity on the 1st of March”, Nedd added.
He added that as the leader of GTT, “taking a position of shutting off our customers for the sake of an alleged political ploy is not something that my team and I can ever justify or condone and hence our absolute condemnation of this spurious piece of disinformation. Let me reiterate that GTT is irrefutably committed to Guyana’s development and growth.”
