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Childcare and Protection Agency wants apology from GPA head

Sep 18, 2010 Letters

Dear Editor,
Today (Wednesday) the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security in partnership with UNICEF launched a report on Media Trends in Guyana related to the representation of women and children in the Guyanese media 2008-2009.
The report was commissioned by the Ministry over a year ago after an observation that our women and children and our country as a whole were being shortchanged by the manner of reporting and in a genuine effort to change these worrying trends of under reporting and negative reporting on these two important populations.
At that launch the president of the Guyana Press Association, Mr. Gordon Moseley spoke in his capacity as President of the Guyana Press Association.
Mr. Mosely said the following
“Last week was child protection week and, our newscast in recognising the need to protect children decided to put together a series of reports on child protection.
We tried for an entire week to get someone from the child protection agency and other services in the human services ministry to talk with us about this issue. We failed in those efforts.
We were told, calls would be returned, persons are in meeting, persons are not allowed to talk to the press, you have to speak to the minister, we can’t deal with that right now.
You would think that a series of reports on a leading newscast would trigger officials into action. Not in this country. There is always an official code of silence.”
We are deeply worried that the President of the press association and a leading character in a nightly newscast could have so skewered facts to, it appears, make his point.
Important to note is that Child Protection Week has not yet been observed in Guyana. It begins on the 19th September and ends on the 25th September 2010. Mr. Moseley said that Child Protection Week was last week, hence his newscast was trying to reach officials and that they were unsuccessful in these attempts.
He goes on to base much of what he says thereafter on this erroneous uttering.
The fact that child protection week has not yet been observed really justifiably brings into question whether the reporter Mr. Moseley or indeed any member of his newscast actually called requesting information or interviews which he says were never forthcoming and/or denied.  We know that the entire statement is based on the lie that child protection week was observed last week.
In any event, the management and staff of the Childcare and Protection Agency wish to categorically deny ever refusing to provide information after being contacted by Gordon Moseley or any member of the Capitol News staff last week or at all.
Indeed information has been provided on many occasions to this same newscast as well as to others that were disappointedly never published. Perhaps, the information provided did not meet the agenda of the various publications.
Mr. Moseley owes us a public apology. Given that he is clearly wrong, we expect that he would have no difficulties with offering same.
Child Protection is serious business.
We implore that child protection issues be treated professionally and not be politicized.
We stand ready to work with any entity that has child protection at heart. We would be happy to provide information that advances the cause of child protection but not where that information breaches the confidentiality of our clients.
Priya Manickchand

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