APNU to focus on state media for improved accountability

Dec 31, 2012 News

A Partnership for National unity (APNU) has some plans for the state media in the New Year.
While the main opposition lauds itself for what it says is “forcing the Government to be more accountable to the people,” come 2013, they said they plan to force the state media to be responsible.

APNU head David Granger

According to the party, the Opposition had forced the Government to be responsible to Parliament and by extension the country. They, however, charged that within the dissemination of information, state media houses are extensively flawed and continue to mislead the nation.
APNU member Rupert Roopnarine said last week, that despite the budget cuts to the Guyana Information News Agency (GINA) and the National Communications Network (NCN), the agencies are still functioning and continue to act in the same manner.
Despite the Government’s bogus ‘tears’ of retro development and the loss of work for staffers, the organizations are still hiring and continue to peddle inaccuracies to the country. Roopnarine said the issue is of continued concern to his party and in 2013 the opposition may have to devise other methods to force the agencies to act responsibly.
“I think in 2013 we will have to devise other mechanisms to bring NCN and GINA to greater levels of accountability and to behave like public broadcasters.”
Roopnarine said while those living on the coast are closer to the realities of what the agencies peddle, misinformation fed to those who do not know what is actually happening is frightful and is an abuse of people.
“It is degrading how those people are treated when you go to those interior areas and are confronted with what they were fed. The misuse and misinformation is really a kind of human rights abuse.”
Roopnarine said that the issue must be taken up on all those counts as there are international, “Protocols in relation to media behaviour, to which the Government is a signatory.”
APNU head David Granger said the issue entails greater accountability. He charged that “If in any instance, the Minister or any agency is found to have spent public funds that were not authorized by the National Assembly, they could be sanctioned.”
Granger said investigations are being carried out to ascertain where the money is coming from for those agencies which were cut but are still carrying on merrily and in a manner that is unchanged. “If any Minister is found to be in breach of instructions or decisions of the National Assembly, he will be dealt with by the Committee of Privileges in the National Assembly.”