Democracy and government-owned and -controlled media isn’t working

Jun 06, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

A question that’s been keeping me company for a long time is: Why does the Government own and control media outlets?
Seems we are behaving much like communist countries where the government controls the media. So why does Guyana, following democratic political principles, have government-owned mass media outlets?
These Chronicle Newspaper tiffs – with the recent going and coming of Sherod Duncan, coupled with the older goings of Dr. David Hinds and Mr. Lincoln Lewis – seem to be a couple of plays that smack entirely as political events, and would fit comfortably in all non-democratic countries. So, why does Guyana have to deal with these issues which, on the surface and perhaps, in fact, are political acts?
These occurrences just serve as reminders to the citizenry that so much of what’s happening is beyond their control and Government seems uncompelled to fully explain. It’s a messy set of events that requires so much political cover that just saps the integrity of our political system. As such, the cumulative impact of these events, serves to further reduce citizens faith and trust in Government.
The Government that seeks to follow full democratic principles should allow private media to fully analyze and critique their acts. Government should subject itself to the scrutiny of media and be in a position to fully explain the issues through press conferences.
Government should seek to get the full citizenry to understand and know that all acts are in furtherance of a better-quality life for all, and not just the well-connected.
Government should get out of the media business and focus on running the country.
Sincerely
Phil Edwards

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