See below the address by President David Granger at an anti-suicide workshop Friday, April 29 held at the Regency Suites hotel. The workshop was organised by the Guyana Press Association in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organisation/ World Health Organisation.

The State media in a democracy

The State is obliged to preserve, protect and to promote citizens’ right to freedom of expression. The State protects this freedom by enforcing constitutional and legal guarantees and by providing those citizens with access to information.

The communications media are vehicles through which citizens receive and transmit information. Independently-controlled and professionally constituted media are essential to freedom of expression.

Information is a public good. It is, a ‘non-rivalrous’ and ‘non-excludable’ service. It is free for all.  Free access to information is an inalienable right of every citizen and an indispensable condition of democratic society.

Citizens’ access to information is a democratic right. Information is necessary for citizens’ informed participation in society. Restrictions on the flow of information deny citizens the opportunity to participate fully in decision-making and, thereby, impair democracy.

Article 146

The Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana (Article 146 (1)) provides:

Except with his consent, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of expression, that is to say, freedom to hold opinions without interference, freedom to receive ideas without interference, freedom to communicate ideas and information without interference and freedom from interference with his communication.

Article 146 is an unambiguous and unclouded statement of our supreme law and an assurance of every citizen’s right to freedom of expression. There are, inevitably, exceptions to free expression.

The Constitution (at Article 146(2) provides for exceptions: “… in the interests of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health… [and] … for the purposes of protecting the reputation, rights and freedoms of other persons…”

The State has an obligation, not an option, to ensure that it provides information to the public.  The state exercises this duty through the state-owned media.

Media doctrine

State media are those which are controlled financially and editorially by the government. Guyana’s state media had their origins in authoritarian, wartime colonial conditions. The colonial administration established the Bureau of Publicity and Information (BPI) in August 1942 during the Second World War, largely for economic reasons.

German U-boats had launched hostile operations to prevent Allied ships from transporting bauxite from Guyana and Suriname to North America and to prevent food supplies from reaching the colonies. One of the BPI’s original purposes was to encourage self-sufficiency through the ‘Grow More Food’ campaign.

The BPI, after the War, was downscaled but it was boosted with increased financing a few years later in October of 1953 in response to another War – the Cold War. The BPI was reconfigured and redirected by British officials to combat what was perceived as the threat of international Communism to British Guiana. Its mission was to demonstrate the advantages of Britain’s plans for the colony.  The BPI was later renamed the Government Information Service (GIS) and this remained the essential state media model for public information over six decades.  The genealogy is significant.

The GIS was superseded, after Independence, by a full-fledged Ministry of Information. The State’s acquisition of the British Guiana Broadcasting Service in 1968 and Radio Demerara in 1979 created a monopoly in local broadcasting. The acquisition of the Guyana Chronicle and Guyana Graphic ensured that the country’s two leading daily newspapers were owned and controlled by the State.

New World Information Order

The New World Information Order (NWIO) gained prominence as media doctrine in the developing world from the mid-1970s.  This was because the large, metropolitan news agencies paid scant attention to positive news from small, poor and developing states. Development Support Communications (DSC) was Guyana’s interpretation and application of the New World Information Order.

DSC is a form of information service provided by governments to the people. It was intended to help communicate information about specific developmental projects to stakeholders, especially in rural and hinterland regions.  DSC became the dominant state media doctrine in Guyana.

The Guyana News Agency was established in 1980 in response to perceived hostility to the government by the Caribbean News Agency (CANA). The intention was to make GNA the gatekeeper for news entering or leaving the country.

The GNA was succeeded by the Guyana Public Communications Agency (GPCA) in 1990 with the intention of managing information more efficiently.  The GPCA’s role was, also, to serve as an information link between specific developmental projects and the intended beneficiaries of those projects.

The administration which entered office in October 1992 resiled from its promise to dismantle the state monopoly of the media, to guarantee private ownership of the media and to open the media to different shades of opinion.

That administration, instead of performing what its manifesto promised, became comfortable with maintaining the extensive media empire it inherited. It re-established a Ministry of Information and the Government Information Service both of which had been dismantled by the previous administration.  The GIS was later renamed Government Information Agency (GINA).

Public information Policy

This administration recognises the roles of, and respects the separation of powers among, three branches of government – the Legislative, the Executive, the Judicial.  It accepts that:

• The State media have a duty to report accurately and without bias on all three arms of the State and that they are obliged to report the views of all parties in the National Assembly in the course of public business.
• The State media have a duty to ensure that the opinions of those on the margins of society are heard and that the media should serve the interests of all the people of Guyana and not only the Government.

The State will continue to have a presence in the media.   This is necessary because private media are located largely on the coastland.  They do not possess sufficient resources to provide public information to all of our citizens, especially those in hinterland and rural regions.

State media, therefore are not intended to compete for or to dominate the information space. The State is committed to protect citizens’ constitutional right to communicate ideas and to receive information.

State media will continue to provide this service in a dispassionate and professional manner.

State media have a duty to report on national development and projects since such information is often not sensational enough to be given attention by the private media. Such issues are often not given publicity by the mainstream private media.

State media have an obligation to inform the people about community development projects.  The people are entitled to know the details of these projects. State media also can play an important role in disseminating economic, environmental, health and climate advisories and providing information about public services.

This administration’s policy is to develop ten strong regions administered by ten ‘capital towns’.  It is our expectation that, in the not too distant future, each ‘capital town’ could contribute to closing the communications gap with its citizens by establishing its own media − newspapers, radio and television − along with facilitating the prevalent social media.

Professionalism

Journalism is a noble profession.  Journalism, as with all other professions is based on a sense of social responsibility, education, ethics and experience.  The Guyana Press Association (GPA) has a duty to enforce these standards of performance and to protect the ideals of this profession from abuse.

The Government of Guyana is committed to the promotion of a high degree of media professionalism. The administration will not undermine the professionalism of state media workers by subjecting them to political direction or interference in their work.

The administration is committed also to non-interference in the independent media. Independent media act as watchdogs of government. They promote transparency by ensuring that information is provided to the public on the work of government.  They are a source of valuable feedback on the effectiveness of the efforts of the government. There is no good reason for the State to interfere in the work of the private media.

The relationship between the State and the private media must be seen as a partnership in providing a public good.  Independence of thought must be preserved, professionalism must be promoted at the Constitution must be upheld.

I thank you.