Dear Editor,
The media has a duty to ensure that it reports and frames discussions in a non-partisan and politically neutral way. As we should know already, biased or misleading narratives can skew public perception and policy decisions, and create unnecessary panic and confusion.
It is against this backdrop that I wish to register my disappointment with Stabroek News and one of its junior reporters Khadidja Ba, who filed the January 28 news article ‘Some Mabaruma small business owners rail against political ‘fight down’ affecting their livelihoods’.
To her credit, Ms Ba included “some” in her headline. But what was most disappointing was that the reporter blatantly ignored the views of businesspeople in Mabaruma who provided positive reviews about development and business in the sub-region. Several of them related this to me.
Editor, reading her article would lead one to believe that Mabaruma has regressed since 2020 when a most basic analysis or review of the sub-region will show that there has been a significant increase in business activities and cash flow since 2020. Don’t take my word for it. Ask the James family which campaigned for the coalition in 2015 and 2020, but have benefitted from government contracts since 2020.
“Political fight down” as referenced in the article? During the APNU+AFC’s time in office, we were met with increased taxes on essential goods and services including fuel and mining equipment that suffocated the mining industry which is the lifeblood of many of our communities. We were burdened with tax on hinterland travel which forced residents to travel less and reduced business activities. The children’s cash grant was removed, and many of the CSOs who were dismissed were from our district. This placed greater hardship on many families who relied on those measures to supplement their income.
One vendor related that he told the Stabroek News reporter that prior to 2015, they were allowed to bring goods in from Venezuela without having to pay duties, once they were sold in region one, and this allowed us to offer products at a cheaper cost to the residents. Not a word of this was mentioned in the news report. Another businessperson told the junior reporter that under the previous administration the GRA waged a war on business owners in the region, resulting in businesses permanently closing down; yet this was not reflected in her report.
Instead, what I read was an article entirely constructed on the negative views shared by some persons who have been affected by the discontinuation of illegal vending and encroaching on public parapets.
Editor, we are entitled to our opinions, but not our own facts. When I read what was said about the smart hospital, I could not believe it was the one in Mabaruma. This is a facility that has brought tremendous relief to the healthcare system in the region and provided expanded healthcare services to thousands of residents on a weekly basis. None of this was highlighted in the news report.
I was therefore curious, Editor, as to why this young reporter would pen an article that was blatantly one-sided and ignored the views of residents who had positive things to say about Mabaruma and the improvements made over the last few years.
Not surprisingly, I discovered that not only is this reporter a family member of former President David Granger, but she has a history of publicly criticizing the PPP. I therefore wish to urge the Stabroek News to not allow its reputation to be sullied. Stabroek News has a duty to the people of not just Mabaruma, but Guyana, to report accurately what the realities are in our country. Sadly, this article did not reflect the realities of Mabaruma.
Yours faithfully,
Sharon Mc Donald
Editor-in-Chief’s note: We thank Ms Mc Donald for her letter. She appears to have gone to much trouble to trace the activities of the reporter during her visit to Mabaruma. That in itself is quite interesting. Whatever Ms Mc Donald says she has been told by residents of Mabaruma about what they told the reporter, Stabroek News is satisfied that the report that was carried on the visit reflects the general view of the people who spoke to the reporter.