Deal with the issues

Feb 25, 2019 Features / Columnists, News, Peeping Tom

The Kaieteur News on Republic Day, 23-2-2019, carried a tasteless letter on the PPPC’s Presidential candidate, Irfaan Ali. Kaieteur News erred in the publication of that letter. It should withdraw it and offer an unconditional apology to Irfaan Ali.
That such a letter escaped editorial censure and made its way into the public domain should be of grave concern to the newspaper and its publisher, even if it is pleasing to those elements who crave hominem attacks in the same way as a vampire lusts for blood.
The public can expect a deluge of nastiness in the weeks and months ahead. They can look forward to mudslinging from both sides of the political divide. The vitriolic penmanship also will get fouler.
Editors have to be alert to these dangers. They cannot edit their publications while sleepwalking or while wearing blinkers.
It is not as if they should ignore some of the concerns over the candidates. Red flags have been raised over Ali’s academic qualifications and much of the unanswered questions are of Ali’s own making. The concerns over his academic qualifications should have been addressed more conclusively.
But the fact that it has not, does not give anyone the license to make sweeping and unsubstantiated generalizations. Much of the controversy surrounding Ali’s academic credentials are based on flawed assumptions. The first of this is that an undergraduate degree is always a precondition to register for a post-graduate programme. The second flawed assumption is that because the media cannot locate an institution means that it does not or never existed. The third assumption is based on hearsay evidence.
Until and unless verifiable evidence are found, certain conclusions, especially of ad hominem nature, should be avoided because while they may turn out to be true that they cannot at this stage be proven.
The highlighting of unproven facts within the media is unfair and unbecoming. It is also represents a danger to society, especially when it degenerates into personal attacks.
Guyanese, instead would be much better off if greater attention is paid to debating issues. Unfortunately, the debates are now trending into personal attacks and innuendos.
This may be par for course in the less-intellectualized social media but should have no place within the mainstream media. The print media, in particular, should avoid stirring up personal animosities and hatred.
Obviously, people want assurances about the integrity and abilities of their leaders. But there is a way of debating such issues without mudslinging contests.
People also want to know about the issues. They want to know what their political leaders will do for them. They want to know where their leaders stand on subjects such as press freedom, crime, wages, workers’ rights, employment, ethnic discrimination, economic growth, education, health care, the business environment, constitutional reform and stabilizing the exchange rate.
On Friday, one newscast reported that at the Bank of Guyana, the United States Dollar was trading for G$207 (buying) and G$210 (selling) but at the cambios, this rate was clearly artificial as the US dollar was buying for a whopping G$216 and selling for G$219.
This continuing sliding devaluation of the Guyana dollar is going to hurt consumers over the next few months. The higher costs, which businesses have to pay for imports are going to be passed on to consumers. Already consumers have witnessed increases in certain prices. The situation is likely to get worse as election nears and people try to hold foreign currency as security. The government is denying that there is a foreign exchange crisis but it is the market, which is providing the mixed signals.
This is the type of issue, which the candidates need to address. But it seems that via the compliments of editorial derogation, the political debates within the letter pages will become even more personal and astringent.

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