Latest update February 6th, 2025 7:27 AM
AG Chambers issues veiled threat to cut State ads from Kaieteur News
Kaieteur News – Taking umbrage to an article in this newspaper which simply questioned the cost of a $8M parking shed, the Chambers of the Attorney General (AG) said that if the Legal Affairs Ministry were to stop advertising in the newspaper, there would be complaints about an attack on the free press.
A $7.5M core home built by the government (Photo Credit: CH&PA)
The current parking shed at the Ministry’s office.
Kaieteur News has reported in the past that the PPP/C Government has weaponized the placement of State ads when media houses are too critical. This newspaper and the Stabroek News have suffered this fate over the years.
Reference to the said tactic was made by the AG’s Chambers via a press statement on Thursday, as it defended the building a shed to park vehicles with monies which can be used to house at least two poor families.
The Ministry said a simple enquiry from the Ministry or an examination of the bid documents would have provided the relevant information that the reporter needed before penning an article that dared to question the expenditure.
The story which KN published was motivated by an advertisement which was published by the Ministry, inviting bids to construct a parking shed at the said Ministry’s office.
Sources told Kaieteur News that the Ministry is tearing down the old shed and is replacing it with a bigger one to accommodate more vehicles. Even so, the source said the estimated amount is “ridiculous!”
“Why would you build a parking shed for such a high cost, when people can’t get houses? Some persons have lands and can’t even afford to build a house and you are spending $8M on a shed,” the source added.
The current structure is supported by at least 20 2×4 posts cemented to the ground and standing at an estimated height of at least 10 feet. As the Ministry embarks on this project, it should be noted that the money, which was stated as the estimated cost, can build a 20 by 30 foot, turn-key home with inside toilet and bath facilities and still have a minimum of $3M remaining.
While defending the new shed which is estimated to cost $8M – amidst the tirade, the Chambers noted, “This must constitute one of the worst expressions of journalism, so frequently evident on the pages of this newspaper. If the Ministry is to stop publishing advertisements in this newspaper, an attack on press freedom would be the cry!”
It should be noted that the veiled threat to cut State ads from Kaieteur News is not new to the PPP administration.
In 2019, Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, in the capacity of Opposition Leader, stated that he believes that it is wrong for a Government to withhold state advertisements from newspapers. He had even acknowledged that this was a practice his Government carried out when he served as President.
Jagdeo had also discussed the importance of certain international conventions on democracy and good governance, and the role of media in policing abuses of State resources.
According to reports, in 2006 Jagdeo’s Government withheld State ads from the private newspaper in 2006, in an attempt to punish it for affording the fledgling Alliance For Change (AFC) regular column postings. Stabroek News stated that the Jagdeo administration had refused to place a single State ad with the newspaper for 17 months, with no plausible explanation.
About the same period, Kaieteur News suffered a similar fate as Stabroek News as, according to KN’s publisher, Glenn Lall, the Jagdeo Government had also meant to stifle this newspaper for its principled reporting.
At that time, the then President Jagdeo had claimed that his decision was because of his Government’s intention to cost-effectively manage its use of State resources, and to explore other avenues for State advertising. However, in October 2019, Jagdeo said that this was not a wise course of action.
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