Dear Editor,
I AM not sure who is the greater anencephalic newspaper agents of the two; Glenn Lall or Anand Persaud? Between the two of them, I can’t imagine there will ever be a need to bring a circus to Guyana anytime soon. These two characters are the creme de la creme of sensationalism.

Glenn Lall’s newspaper specialises in grotesque dead bodies, and Anand Persaud’s StabroekNews in mass misinformation. Fortunately, Glenn Lall had no dead bodies to display yesterday, so he resorted to sensationalism; a tabloid must. With front page headline splashed in bold, Kaieteur News had all Georgetowners agonising over the legality of their properties. “Govt gives out land larger than Georgetown to a single individual”, was the type of headline you would expect on ‘All Fools Day’. Clearly there was only one fool; the publisher who allowed this article to be printed.

First and foremost, the grammar in the headline is wrong. Individual is singular, hence the term “single individual” is repetitive. Just as how it is impossible to have a half of an MP, it is impossible to have “a double or single individual.”  You can have “an individual.” Stay ‘woke’ Glenn Lall! We can’t be repeating ourselves in these classes. Anyway, that basic error alone had me in a hyperaurosal state. Anyway, I continue to scrutinise the article, like one would a divorce document, and learnt that the “single individual” in question is one Kirk Hollingsworth. I’ve never met the “single individual” in question; I do not know him, but we did have a phone conversation or two a few months back. That’s it. So it is not a case of me blindly defending a friend.

Let me say this from the outset. I am not saying the information in Kaieteur News is true or untrue. What I’m stating is that Glenn Lall should have ascertained the veracity of the information before it was published. The fact that I’m uncertain reflects very poorly on Kaieteur News. A newspaper of worth would have had sufficient evidence that would not have had the reader in any doubt. First, Kaieteur News said they did research on
Mr. Hollingsworth, which uncovered a wealth of information. That is absolute garbage. You checked his Linkedin page; something that my 11-year-old daughter is quite capable of doing, and not what I expect adults would have gone into celebratory mode on achieving. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Hollingsworth’s Linkedln profile, which is a professional website, just provided a summary of his curriculum vitae. Is that your wealth of information, Glenn Lall? Sorry, I expected a bit more.

Any newspaper worth its salt would have interviewed Mr. Hollingsworth to get his version of events. That was not done by Kaieteur News. Any newspaper worth its salt would have done a thorough investigation into Mr. Hollingsworth’s financial and business record. Kaieteur News has not done that. A newspaper of repute would have interviewed some of those who unsuccessfully applied to purchase the land. That was not done by Kaieteur News. A good newspaper that is worth its salt would have requested an interview with Tandika Adams, recognising that she might not have gone into specifics, but would have been able to speak generally. That was not done by Kaieteur News. Any good newspaper would have interviewed the subject minister. That was not done by Kaieteur News.  Any newspaper worth its salt would have had an independent land-evaluating company evaluate the financial worth of the land. That was not done. In all likelihood, Glenn Lall came up with that $billion figure after speaking with the Opposition, or their oil and gas consultant who’s never set foot in the oil and gas industry.

Again, I will repeat that I am not sure if the story is true or untrue. I just know it is a half-baked story that one would expect from a tabloid newspaper. You would believe that Kaieteur News would have learnt their lesson after they wrongfully accused a newly-appointed Senior Counsel of being a man of disrepute. That piece of tabloid rubbish cost Glenn Lall tens of millions. Now back to this Kirk Hollingsworth farce. Mr. Glenn Lall, what would you do if you were to find out that a junior clerical staff inputted the wrong numbers, or misplaced a comma from where it should have been in that sole document that you are basing your story on?

Regards,
Dr. Mark Devonish