A vigorous investigation is also needed into mismanagement, overspending at DPI

Sep 16, 2018 News

Dear Mr. /Madam Editor,

Now that the allegations regarding overspending and the alleged mismanagement at the Guyana Chronicle are in the spotlight, we are appealing to the Honourable President David Granger, and Honourable Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, to launch an urgent and vigorous investigation at the Department of Public Information (DPI).
We, the staff at the DPI, believe that such an investigation will expose even more serious issues, regarding overspending and mismanagement, resulting in the DPI being literally run into the ground.
We are doing this with great reluctance. We have no vendetta. We know of the risks involved, of the witch-hunt that will follow, to identify the ‘moles’ who ‘leaked’ this letter to the media.
But it is said that desperate times call for desperate measures.
So, Honourable President and Prime Minister, we are taking this chance because all of our many complaints are being brushed aside, and because we fear that the collapse of this crucial State entity, which we care about, is imminent, if urgent intervention is not done.
First, we believe that the DPI is being badly mismanaged, and this has led to staff either resigning, being suspended, and the DPI being severely understaffed, and failing to attract newcomers, who, we believe, have gotten wind of the manner in which the DPI is being run.
One of the main issues involves the hiring of an EIC (Editor in Chief)/Deputy Director, who appears not to have been hired to Edit, who is allowed to do practically nothing, except berate staff and cause confusion in her department.
We have a situation in which the Editor in Chief has been hired to ‘overlook’ and not edit a single story, not to conduct a single interview, not to write a single line, but to foist her responsibilities on others.
Is this a case of friends hiring friends of friends? Why else would our complaints be brushed off, and the individual at the centre of these problems be given a pass, while those who raise these concerns are targeted with suspension and deduction from their salaries?
Her manner of dealing with staff has even led to some staff taking their grievances to the Ministry of Labour, which has failed to address these issues.
But this is only one example of mismanagement and wastage of financial resources.
Even more serious wastage has come in the form of a number of out of town ‘retreats’ to at least two resorts, to discuss issues pertaining to the operations of DPI. One such ‘retreat’ involved some twenty staffers, with transportation costing some $12,000 for each staffer. These ‘retreats’ (meetings) could easily have been held, without cost, at the DPI.
We believe that there has also been serious wastage of financial resources on the printing of several publications, which are sent to various regions.
This has added to the massive workload of DPI staffers, many of whom work practically every day, without a day off.
Mr./Madam Editor, we believe that many of these issues could be solved internally, if only Management would take time to listen and act. No one is perfect. No one knows it all.
With urgent media-related issues such as the upcoming Regional Elections on the horizon, we submit that the problems we have highlighted should be speedily addressed.

Yours Respectfully,

Loyal but frustrated DPI Staffers