Dear Editor,
World Press Freedom Day 2023 marked a momentous juncture for the Fourth Estate, with a theme that positioned the free press as an enabler of wider freedoms. Quite fittingly, the Government of Guyana through the department of Public Affairs observed the occasion with a Freedom Kaleidoscope Gala Reception to honour past and current practitioners, including with two Lifetime Achievement awards for two outstanding stalwarts. We sought to recognize the freedoms the media enjoys in Guyana and those they help to promulgate. We also participated at the ministerial level in the Murray House forum organized by the Guyana Press Association.
What is unfortunate however Editor, is what appears to be an incredulous hijacking of the narrative leading up to and during the observance of such an important occasion, as perhaps a targeted strategy by those with special interests in the furtherance of narrow political objectives. We saw a barrage of unfounded claims of hostility and interference on the part of the government, when in fact, the only recorded instances since 2020, were meted out by the main opposition political party. These false claims were carried in some sections of the media, notwithstanding the risk for Guyana’s rating on the World Press Freedom Index resulting from such narratives, as we have consequentially seen, with a drastic drop on the index by 26 points, immediately following the 30th anniversary observances.
The May 7 editorial by Stabroek News, under a wholly misleading headline ‘Parallel GPA’ has quoted me as advocating for the establishment of a parallel press association. I did indeed address the issue which has become very topical among media practitioners in recent years, disquieted about their malcontent in the quality of representation or the lack thereof, within the fraternity.
My contention in both of my presentations as subject minister on May 3rd, was and still remains; wherever, in any section of our society, large swathes of people are unrepresented or underrepresented on the democratic continuum, they, for all intents and purposes, reserve the right to coalesce and bring into effect as they may deem necessary, additional forms of representation that they believe could potentially fix their deprivations and other associated needs.
In the case of the Fourth Estate, as with any other sector, the constitution of Guyana nor any other regulation, does not bequeath exclusivity or monopolies on the question of representation of workers of any category.
It would seem therefore, that the Guyana Press Association would do well in heeding the mounting calls to amend its decades-old constitution to reflect and embrace the ever-evolving characteristics of the media industry, and the growing needs of its members, or face what may become inevitable consequences of its inaction, at the hands of the disgruntled.
Sincerely,
Hon. Kwame Mc Coy,
Minister within the Office of
The Prime Minister