Possible closure of Caribbean Press…Guyanese writers call for removal of Culture Minister

Jan 05, 2014 News

The recent declaration by Minister of Culture, Dr. Frank Anthony that the Caribbean Press may face a possible closure if the money for the establishment of an Editorial Board is not approved has caused some amount of uneasiness in the literary world.

Culture Minister,
Dr. Frank Anthony

The announcement by Dr. Anthony at a Press Conference held at his ministry on Main Street on Friday last, has caused several local writers to not only question the Minister’s integrity and commitment to the development of the creative arts but also make a strong call for his resignation.
The Caribbean Press is a nonprofit organization which was established to publish the work of Guyanese writers.
Dr. David Dabydeen serves as the editor and manager of the Publishing House which still remains without an office. The Minister in an interview last year had complained of a shortage of staff and had said that the Press is facing a lot of challenges since most of the work is done by persons who are not paid for their services.
According to Dr. Anthony, the Press has published 60 books to date, 36 of which have been distributed to schools, libraries and Austin’s Book Services.
Since the establishment of the Press, there have been numerous accusations of mismanagement of its funds by several social and cultural activists.
Taking this into account, the panel of editors and writers working at the Caribbean Press has supported the move for the implementation of a permanent Editorial Board. The Minister during the press conference said, “The people have been unhappy with the bad press they have been getting and as such we have sought to get the editorial board in place. This will cost money. We have no problem if this is what people want in the name of transparency but if it is not approved then the Caribbean Press can face a total shut down.”
However, Cultural activist and artist, Mr. Barrington Braithwaite expressed that the implementation of an Editorial Board does not mean that it will not serve the whims and fancies of a “secretive clique.”
He said, “When you are dealing with public funds you are supposed to be transparent and these funds are simply being mismanaged. And from the inception the Press should have had an Editorial Board in place. The Press was never embracing of the work of local writers. Instead, it is guided by a social clique who used it to get their work published…An editorial board does not mean that it will not serve the whims and fancies of the same secretive clique and in order for the Press to be effective, it needs to be reconstituted. It needs an office so that writers can be able to access these editors which would also lend to better management.”
Meanwhile, in a published letter in today’s edition Ruel Johnson, two time winner of the Guyana Prize for Literature and acclaimed writer said that after examining the comments of the Culture Minister on the Press, he would like to reiterate his calls for the resignation of the Minister on the grounds of ineffectiveness and dishonesty.
This call was also supported by other local writers and aspiring artists.
As it relates to the money for the funding of the Editorial Board for the Press, Johnson says that, “Anthony is setting up a straw dragon and then pretending to cower from it. As far as I can tell, none of the Parliamentary parties has threatened the Ministry’s budgetary allocations nor have they given any indication that they will do so.”
Johnson then reminded that the only pressure placed on the Minister in Parliament as it relates to the Press were those written questions posed to him last year by Trevor Williams, member of the Opposition Party, The Alliance For Change (AFC).
Johnson also contends that not only is there need for an Editorial Board but there is also need for a management board.
He said, “With regard to the management board, like all state boards, participation would be voluntary, and academics as a rule do not charge for editorial board participation. Therefore, Anthony’s insinuation that board costs would be a stumbling block to the Press’ continued operations is duplicitous as best, but not atypical of the Minister’s pronouncements. The key editorial management cost would be for a qualified managing editor…”
In addition Johnson asserts that Dr. Anthony has not been open on the “specifics, particularly human resource allocations.”
Instead, “He focuses, for example, on the $7.85 million spent on secretarial assistants for three years and refuses to disclose where this money was spent (UK or Guyana), or the identity, contractual obligations and qualifications of the assistants.”
Additionally, he is of the belief that “the Minister is equally silent on the specifics of the layout and design costs, as well as the licensing costs paid to the original publishers of the books being reprinted by the Press.”
Johnson said that the Press can be a most beneficial venture once certain inhibitions are removed.
He added, “If he (the Minister) is truly interested in keeping the initiative alive, he would actively seek out and accept all the help offered, instead of finding weak, ‘pity-po-boy’ excuses to justify his inability to stick to his promises on the Caribbean Press, whether they have to do with the publication of local authors or to set up a competent board or boards.”