I look forward to an improved, professional service from the DPI

Nov 16, 2018 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
Please allow me to begin by wishing President Granger every bit of strength he needs to overcome his illness, and it is my sincere hope that nothing I state further will cause to upset him, should he read the online newspapers as he undergoes treatment in Cuba.
I am writing to express my displeasure with the manner in which information is dispersed by the APNU+AFC administration. We learned of His Excellency’s diagnosis and treatment via an online news outlet with close links to the Administration and later via a press release from our Ambassador to Cuba.
When the Department of Public Information (DPI) was created, it was my belief that it would be a central clearing house for information for all government ministries, agencies, departments and public offices. I expected the DPI to be staffed with persons capable of explaining government’s actions and policies in layman’s terms for the edification of the general public and to expound on matters of public interest in anticipation of the needs of the populace.
I am sure my fellow Guyanese would have appreciated an official release from our DPI on His Excellency’s illness; one that would have included details on Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, the treatment details, including how much time same is expected to take.
I used Google to inform myself further on this form of Cancer and felt immediate sympathy for our President and his family, it appears to be a particularly painful cancer and the treatment is often more painful than the disease. This information was in direct contrast to the glib ‘expected to recover fully’ included in a report from an online outlet, which in its haste to reassure us, did a disservice to our need for truth. That outlet is not, however, funded by taxpayers’ money, and is free to operate in any manner it sees fit.
During the period when we needed information the most, our DPI was engaged in preparing and disseminating patently false Local Government Election results with the prefix ‘unofficial’ as a disclaimer – an act that is both reckless and dangerous, one that if not curbed now, will lead to public danger come General Elections.
I suggest that if the staff want to become a ‘fake news’ outfit, they are free to leave the service of Government and strike out on their own; they cannot and must not be allowed to do so within a Government department while being paid from the public purse.
DPI staff must be cognizant of the potential harm that fake election results can generate, as was the case when a home was torched in Sophia on election night 2015, In this modern age, a ‘Nuremberg defence’ is not acceptable and then there is the weight on one’s conscience should the unthinkable occur.
I am a firm believer in redemption and look forward to an improved, professional service of information in the near future from the DPI.
Respectfully
Robin Singh

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