THE political opposition did not, as expected yesterday, confirm their participation in three rounds of debates proposed by the National Communications Network (NCN).“The initiation invitations were sent out last Thursday; we expected to hear from the participants by today (yesterday), but we did not. Letters were resent to both Congress Place and the Leader of the Opposition’s office yesterday. We had an acknowledgement that the invitations were received,” said, Mrs Molly Hassan, Managing Director, in an invited comment.

She added that the request made was that, at a minimum, two persons be nominated to participate in each round of debates.
The debates were scheduled to commence tomorrow.
The first round is slated for the University of Guyana’s Tain Campus, in Region 6 (East Berbice/ Corentyne), where the topic up for discussion is the future of the sugar industry. On April 8, political representatives will debate national security at the Theatre Guild. The last debate in Round One is set for the Linden Concert Hall, on April 15, where issues pertinent to the bauxite industry would be addressed.
Relative to the issues up for debate in Round Two, Mrs. Hassan explained that the presidential candidate for the Alliance of A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), David Granger, has been invited to make recommendations.
The logistics of Round Three are still to be fine-tuned.
Additionally, NCN is also expected to begin airing a new programme, ‘News in Conversation’, which is a 30-minute programme.
However, the programme’s producer, Ms Wanita Huburn, told the Guyana Chronicle that as of yesterday, there still has not been any confirmation regarding the participation of the Political Opposition.
Both the debates and the ‘News in Conversation’ programme, expected to be televised live, are intended to be an opportunity for politicians from the two major political parties – APNU+AFC and the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) – to address topical issues, the day’s news, and share their views.
NCN, like other sections of the State media, has borne the brunt of criticisms from the Political Opposition regarding opportunities to be featured.
Meanwhile, representatives from the two major political parties, PPP/C and APNU+AFC, have indicated their willingness to engage each other in public debates. These include a debate hosted by the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the body’s Chairman, Ramesh Persaud, told the Guyana Chronicle yesterday that the PPP/C and APNU+AFC have confirmed their involvement.