GPA urges President Granger to hold press conferences

May 03, 2017 News

The Guyana Press Association (GPA) is calling on President David Granger to host press conferences to answer questions about his government’s policies and programmes. This is according to a press release by the GPA as Guyana celebrates the World Press Freedom Day today.
The GPA represents prominent media houses in Guyana and calls are being made to have press conferences of no less than one hour, hosted by President Granger. The Association appreciates the fact that the President is not averse to speaking with the media on the sidelines of public events or during his ‘Public Interest’ programme, however the GPA believes that accountability to the Guyanese people will be best served through press conferences.
The GPA bemoans the Government of Guyana’s increasingly rigid posture against sections of the media and their organisation, the GPA, by refusing to concretely address several concerns.
The Association also calls on the President to advise the media in advance of his overseas engagements so as to allow media houses the opportunity to plan or decide whether they would like to cover those visits at their own expense.
The GPA urges the legal fraternity as well as colleagues in the media to be aware of the various laws and regulations that have a chilling effect on freedom of expression and access to information.
GPA is calling on media houses to ensure their editors and reporters take advantage of the various training activities and professional development events. GPA also pledges its unwavering support to any effort that will improve the level of Digital Literacy, while at the same time be vigilant against hate speech.
The theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day observance is “Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media’s role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies.”

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