–as Cabinet adjourns so PM could attend funeral

By Shirley Thomas

VETERAN local journalist Dale Anthony Andrews, who had the enviable reputation of always beating the competition, again managed to do the impossible yesterday, even in death.

This time around, he succeeded in interrupting a session of Cabinet meeting so Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo could attend his funeral service, held at the Trinity Methodist Church at High and Durban Streets.

As the PM, who is known for his wry humour, jocularly announced on arrival at the service: “So his last story should read, ‘Cabinet adjourned for Dale Andrews’ Funeral’.”

Others joining the bereaved family members and the Kaieteur News family in paying tribute to the fallen journalist comprised members of the Guyana Press Association and representatives of the wider media fraternity.

Dale Andrews, the man with the knack for stirring the police into action where making arrests and solving crime were concerned, transitioned this life on June 4, after serving the local media with distinction for well over 20 years. He was 47.

A graduate of the prestigious Queen’s College, Andrews, whose last tenure was with the Kaieteur News, which he served for well over 15 years, died at a city hospital after a brief period of illness.

MOVING SERVICE
It was a moving Thanksgiving Service, with glowing tributes delivered under a sombre atmosphere. The church was packed to capacity, with many in the congregation being people whose lives Andrews had touched as he journeyed through life.

In his tribute, Prime Minister Nagamootoo said: “We are saying goodbye to a dear friend, a hard worker, a journalist. Dale, who worked beyond the normal call of duty, even though sick, presented his last story the night before he died.”

The Prime Minister recalled having known Dale Andrews for a number of years, during which time he had spotted the passion, zeal and enthusiasm in him as a young reporter working with the Guyana Broadcasting Corporation.

When later he saw him again, the PM said, Dale had taken over the crime beat at the Kaieteur News, and was delivering with

distinction, to the extent that he was better known in media circles as ‘The Crime Chief’.

He spoke of Dale having developed into a feature writer with a particular flare — that of being a crime reporter.

“He has been a dedicated journalist; and journalists are the ones who present you with the news as they happen,” the PM said.

Himself a journalist for the better part of his adult life, the Prime Minister remarked that journalism can be an almost thankless job. He added that journalists almost risk becoming extinct, often facing the threat of death in the execution of their duties.

IT IS FINISHED
Of Dale’s passing, the Prime Minister said: “He has finished a journey; he decided that no threat or humiliation will take him away.”

Urging his colleagues not to dwell on his passing, but rather on what he represented, the PM said: “He represented a fearlessness that all journalists must possess in bringing the truth, in defending freedom of expression and the democratic rights of people to know the truth and what is taking place in society.”

In closing, he asserted: “So, my friend Dale, you have done your part. The younger journalists in our midst will read about you; will hear about you….”

The Prime Minister, on behalf of President David Granger and the entire Cabinet, extended condolences to the family and loved ones of Dale Andrews, the management and staff of the Kaieteur News, and to all journalists in Guyana.

Said he: “We have lost a friend, and the profession would continue, knowing that there were people like Dale Andrews who had stood the course and who battled on, perhaps under difficult circumstances, but nevertheless took the torch of the freedom of expression forward so that our country can become safer; can ensure that we preserve its democratic values, and much more; that we preserve a Free Press.
Andrews has left his indelible footprints in journalism, and was right up there with the best and brightest in the business.”

He leaves to mourn his mother, Bertnell Andrews; wife Penelope, children, brothers, sisters and other relatives and friends.