Dear Editor
I am not surprised that Consultant Kit Nascimento would jump at the opportunity to create and peddle the narrative penned in his letter dated 13 July 2023. It is an insult to free press, media workers and this nation for me to repeat that narrative here. From the announcement of the President’s press engagement on July 11th, media houses were restricted to sending only one reporter and videographer/photographer. One media house, despite arriving early, was not allowed at the press conference while three other media workers were turned away close to 10 am. The questions were limited to ONE question and ONE follow up after the President’s address. One person challenged that, yours truly, and was berated for doing so. Kit knows this more than anyone that the press will prioritorise pressing issues when engaging a senior official like the Head of State.
The fact that the media could not engage the President beyond Kit’s rule has robbed the President and the nation of understanding many of his government plans and programmes and critical issues facing every day Guyanese. The media are not just a group of people, we interact and face the public every day and beyond the propaganda peddled by politicians. I find Kit’s missive to be nothing but an insult to this nation. The fact remains that there is little engagement between the media and the government. Ministers talk to selected media houses, some do not answer their phones and others host one way social media and television programmes. Imagine being asked to send questions to a WhatsApp number for a senior government official to respond to? Is this what the media has been relegated to?
The Vice President hosts press conferences as both the General Secretary of his party and VP and many times indicates that he cannot speak to certain issues because he does not sit at Cabinet and or reporters should reach out to the subject minister… and we know where this is going. I say all of this to say the presidential and other media engagements are vital in the absence of post cabinet and other press engagements. This along with the insult meted out by Kit adds to a series of insults within the past months including the limitation to the wider press to certain assignments like Thursday’s swearing in of the Public Service Commission and the recent Secretary of State visit where two media houses were handpicked for questions.
Sincerely,
Nazima Raghubir
Journalist