Peeping Tom - CAN I HAVE PERMISSION?

Peeping Tom – CAN I HAVE PERMISSION?

Jun 22, 2008 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

I was driving south along the Ruimveldt bypass – the road that connects Mandela Avenue to the East Bank Public Road – when I noticed that there is a giant billboard advertising the Guyana Times newspaper.

It struck me that a fair portion of that signboard was on the parapet of the bypass, with the remainder on the street leading into the eastern section of the Ruimveldt Industrial Estate.

However, the target audience is obvious: those traveling on the bypass to connect to the four-lane highway cannot miss this huge signboard advertising Guyana’s latest daily newspaper.

I looked across the road from that billboard and saw the New Guyana Company, the publishers of the Mirror newspaper. What struck me was there were also advertising billboards there but not on the road parapet but rather within the compound itself.

The publishers of the Mirror were no doubt maintaining their compliance with the regulations which were put in place in preparation for Cricket World Cup 2007. Those regulations saw all billboards along the East Bank Public Road and its bypasses, as well as along all public roads as far as the East Coast of Demerara, being pulled down.

Many persons were not happy with this but understood it was a requirement for Guyana’s hosting of the cricket and therefore at great personal cost and loss had to dismantle the hundreds of signboards and billboards of shops and businesses that dotted the reserves of roadways.

Now that I have seen this spanking new billboard advertising the Guyana Times, I am wondering whether there has been a change of status regarding advertising on parapets of public roads and if it is now permissible for persons to apply to re-erect billboards on these reserves.

I would love the Minister of Public Works and Communications to confirm that it now permissible to apply, please note apply, for permission to erect signboards on parapets of public roads because the Peeper may, please note may, want to do some billboard advertising of his own in the future.

You see, I am waiting eagerly to see whether this new newspaper which is still a newborn will receive any government advertisements. I am waiting to see how the government’s advertising policy will fit in with the launch of this new newspaper. Kaieteur News had to wait ten years until it received government advertisements.

The Stabroek News, which is a long-established newspaper, and which helped to bring democracy to Guyana, had certain government ads withdrawn for one year.

Now if the Guyana Times which is still in its infancy gets government ads, Peeping Tom will be forming his own newspaper. After all, if they can get, why not me.

In fact, if the Guyana Times which is still a baby is given government advertisements, then the Peeper will urge both Raphael and Khemraj to form a newspaper because they too should be entitled to ads.

In fact, the New Nation would also be entitled because even though that has not been printed for some years, it has been around in the past for a long time and if the Guyana Times obtains ads, then so too should the New Nation.

I therefore will be monitoring closely this situation. I did notice, on Friday, a Ministry of Culture/UNDP ad placed in the Guyana Times, but I am not treating this as a government ad. However, if within the next year, I should see any government ad within the Guyana Times, I shall be moving to establish my own newspaper because then I will know that I too shall be entitled to government advertising.

I plan to call my paper the Peeping Public Pioneer (PPP). Glenn Lall says that he has a printing press to sell. He says it is brand new and I can have it on hire purchase and pay him back based on the government ads I receive.

I could not have negotiated a better deal. Who knows, by the time I am ready the law would have been amended and my newspaper would qualify for pioneering concessions; after all the paper will be named the Peeping Public Pioneer.

I will also need to advertise my new newspaper well in advance. This is where the billboard comes in. I think I would like my billboard right next to that one advertising the Guyana Times. After all, what better place to have a billboard for my Peeping Public Pioneer (PPP) than right opposite where the PPP’s newspaper is published?

So I am now asking the Minister responsible for granting approval for billboards at the side of public roads whether he will grant me permission to place my billboard right next to the one advertising the Guyana Times. After all, what is good for one must be good for all.

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