Latest update April 3rd, 2026 12:35 AM
‘85 days of silence: Govt. last press conference held in December 2025
(Kaieteur News) – It is now 85 days since the Government of Guyana (GoG) last held a press conference to update the nation of its planning and execution of national policies and strategies.
The last press conference by government was held on December 18, 2025 by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo. Prior to his engagement with members of the media, President Irfaan Ali hosted a press conference on November 21, 2025. Since these events last year, reporters have not been afforded the opportunity to deeply question government on the rollout of its development agenda. This issue has caused a blackout in the media fraternity with journalists being forced to utilise other avenues to hold the government to account. This would usually take the form of limited queries on the sidelines of events, often hurriedly addressed to facilitate “another engagement” or the casual “please keep questions on today’s events.”
President Irfaan Ali
With transparency and accountability under question, government continues its daily routine with major projects in the pipeline and initiatives being rolled out, costing tax payers billions. In fact, questions continue to linger surrounding the final cost of the Gas-to-Energy pipeline for instance, a major component of a project that will impact the lives of thousands of Guyanese. The government is also silent on the audits conducted of ExxonMobil to date, amounting over US$28.5B in costs claimed by the operator. To date government has refused to publish the third report handed over by the audit team which reviewed US$19.6B for the company that Guyana’s oil must repay.
Beyond the oil and gas sector, government is yet to address several other matters including the deadly Guyana Defence Force (GDF) helicopter crash and the report it promised to release and matters of foreign policy including the Guyana-Cuba relations and the shortage of certain medical specialists, among others.
In an invited comment, veteran Journalist, Denis Chabrol complained against the lack of press conferences and post cabinet briefings. The former President of the Guyana Press Association (GPA) said, “Guyana has perhaps become notorious for being the lone CARICOM member state where there are no post-cabinet or periodic press conferences by the Head of Government or Ministers. This represents a woeful degradation of an important public accountability mechanism by the elected representatives.”
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo
He noted that Guyana has moved from a stage of unprecedented media openness dating back to 1992 to a situation of no press conferences not even by the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo.
Chabrol also addressed what he described as recent “sit down press engagements” facilitated by none other than the Head of State. The Journalist and Publisher said these events appear “quite choreographed and selective” as he argued that brief interactions with the media on the sidelines of public events are insufficient and cannot be substituted for press conferences or press briefings.
In its New Year’s message, the Guyana Press Association (GPA) addressed the reduced interaction with media by government. At the time, the body said the weekly post Cabinet media briefing has been substituted with a weekly diatribe by the General Secretary of the PPP at his political party’s headquarters.
“In fact, journalists must now formulate new strategies and tactics to access information for the public good in an era of creeping information control by the Guyana government. The veneer of press freedom is being presented as one in which there is media plurality and supposed access to officials,” the GPA stated.
It argued that the only objective is to avoid as much as possible searching questions as a phone interview or face-to-face semi media scrum on the side-lines of a major event is no substitute for a free and unrestricted press conference that allows for a wide variety of subjects to be addressed.
Last week, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) raised concerns about what it describes as a steady erosion of transparency in Guyana, warning that the trend comes at a time when the country’s oil sector is expanding rapidly and public spending is reaching unprecedented levels.
Member of Parliament (MP) Sherod Duncan pointed to replacement of year-end press conferences by the administration with mere statements on the performance of respective ministries in December 2025.
Duncan reasoned, “All of it is to avoid scrutiny. Now if you are doing all this work and you are putting people first wouldn’t you want to engage the public? Wouldn’t you want to engage members of the media fraternity to tell of all this goodness that you are doing out there?” The MP believes that government is deliberately avoiding meaningful engagements with credible media houses like Kaieteur News as is evident in the shift from post cabinet briefings and now silence from Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, who held regular press conferences on Thursdays.
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Ali and Jagdeo do not have much to say at a Press Conference-Nowadays.
However, Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed has been saying a lot,
showing videos of UNFINISHED Public works, languishing for years that
costs over-runs $$$, in dilapidated condition, especially bridges over canals.
Ali and Jagdeo cannot counter what Mohamed been showing to the people
of Guyana-live video- wanting to know where the Billions$$$ have gone to.
That is why NO PRESS CONFERENCE IN 85 DAYS.