Latest update June 13th, 2026 12:40 AM
A changed media landscape
It took just over two weeks before Minister of State Joseph Harmon broke his silence in the face of accusations that seemed to threaten his political career. The first criticism came when the news broke that he had appointed businessman Brian Tiwarie an advisor.
The outcry was such that President David Granger immediately rescinded the appointment. Minister Harmon said nothing amidst the clamour that he explain what happened. The din had not even died down when the disclosure came that he had intervened into the operations of the Guyana Revenue Authority, halting a seizure of some vehicles that the logging company, BaiShanLin, had imported. The issue was the non-payment of the relevant duties.
Again, in the face of the questions, Harmon said nothing. His silence only served to fuel the media aggression. Harmon’s ministerial colleagues would only say that they were aware of the issue and that methods were being adopted to address it.
In the end, President David Granger announced that he had instituted measures to ensure that no other Minister get involved into the affairs of another Ministry.
The loudest criticisms came in the wake of the publication of a photograph of Harmon seated in a private jet in China surrounded by the owners of the embattled Chinese logging company, BaiShanLin. The media concluded the worst; not least that Harmon was involved in corrupt transactions.
The dust is now settling; answers have been provided at last. It would seem that not much could have been said because of sensitive negotiations. The nation has also learnt that a new company is moving to take control of BaiShanLin operations.
One must assume that the government has learnt a valuable lesson. Indeed, the previous government did pretty much the same things but escaped criticisms because the population had been beaten into submission. The government rarely deigned to offer explanations and when it did, it left more questions than answers.
It could have been some fear on the part of the media to go all out and criticize the previous administration. Indeed, Kaieteur News sought to expose every shortcoming, but the government simply reacted as though the newspaper was little more than a nuisance. When the situation became a bit more serious, the government relied on the state-controlled media and those closely aligned to the government to launch counter attacks.
Knowledge about the construction of the Marriott Hotel came from a newspaper publication in Jamaica. It was same with the expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. Again, news of the project was first published overseas.
The launch of the hydro road leading to the Amaila Falls was similarly secretive. Contrary to what ensured these past few weeks there was no media frenzy. It simply means that the word is that no other government would be allowed to get away with what the Jagdeo administration did. This speaks to a new day in media freedom and transparency.
Yet there are those in the society who would not condone any criticism of the government. The nature of the politics is such that people are either for or against a political party, regardless of what that party does. The nation saw the picketing exercise outside Kaieteur News when the newspaper continued its reporting of the perceived ills of Mr Harmon.
There was one interesting observation. The criticisms came from those media agencies that were equally critical of the People’s Progressive Party government. Those that were loyal to that government did not join in the attack against Harmon. And this could be understood. They got information that the rest of the media never got until two days ago.
The companies that are operating in Guyana came at the invitation of the PPP government. There is still that contact with the leaders of the PPP and it would be some time before these companies deal exclusively with the present administration.
So the Harmon issue is heading for the archives but one must now wonder whether the government would hesitate to answer questions.
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