…says media attacks part of scheme to block renewal of contract

PRINCIPAL and Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the University of Guyana (UG), Professor Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith, has cleared the air on what he describes as “egregious misinformation” reported recently about his administration of the tertiary institution. And he tied those ‘attacks’ to efforts by some to scuttle his chances of getting a renewal of his contract.

“For some time now I have been silent as misinformation, outright fabrications, and innuendo have been published as journalism products and facilitated as letters to the editor,” he said in his own letter to the editor. “These have been designed to malign and hurt the image of the university and me, and to impede the progress we are making by doing tangible things to improve the service to students and staff.”

He directed focus to two specific news reports, published recently by the Kaieteur News; these were: “No toilet paper and soap for staff, but UG spent over $400,000 to cater dinner for eight”, and “UG executives tripled their salaries in five years.”

“Not only is it patently inaccurate to assert that there is no toilet paper and soap at UG, but the claim that $400,000 was spent on a dinner for eight individuals is patently false! I say this without fear of contradiction,” he stressed. At the very least, he said that a reporter should have checked with personnel from the university for a comment or to seek evidence about that dinner.

As regards the salary increases, he opined also: “The public and the profession of journalism would have been better served had someone verified the accuracy of the assertion by checking with the personnel officer or the bursar for a comment and secure the appropriate information and explanations.”

In both of those news reports, it was reported that the information was provided by the UG workers’ unions, who in recent times have been at loggerheads with the university over salary increases and a lack of development of the teaching space.

“It is well known that the union leaders behind these stories have their agendas against the administration and me in particular, and with my current contract ending soon, they have stepped up their campaign to force me out,” the principal alleged in his letter.

He went on to claim that the unions are working to “sour the public space and stoke discontent in advance of the Council meeting”, in light of his recent expression of interest in renewing his contract as vice-chancellor.

Recently, the Education Ministry notified the vice-chancellor’s office of the unions’ request for a forensic audit into the university’s spending. This request came after the unions had staged peaceful picketing exercises for weeks against what they deemed the ‘misappropriation’ of UG funds. Though the VC indicated to this newspaper that all spending was in keeping with his drive to transform the university, he expressed that the administration is willing to have its financial position examined by any competent and independent arbiter.

The administration, on the other hand, requested several documents from the unions, including their Articles of Association, Certificates of Recognition, Statements of Income and Expenditure for recent years, and recent Annual Returns and audited statements.

Subsequent to those matters, the news reports surfaced. Not wishing to engage in a “tit-for tat”, the VC said that he has remained silent on matters reported thus far.

“My silence was and is guided by my desire to avoid an information tit-for-tat and to foster an environment of positive dialogue,” he said, but continued: “However, some recent egregious misinformation suggests the need to end the silence about things published and the journalism used.”

In his letter too, the VC directed focus to the “tangible things” done under his leadership that have resulted in the improvement of the university.

These include the newly commissioned US$665,000 Jay and Sylvia Sobhraj Centre for the Behavioural Sciences and Research; the launch of the School of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation (SEBI) in 2017; the launch of new degree programmes in Petroleum Engineering, Food Science, Youth Work, Clinical Psychology, and in Nursing and Civil Engineering in Berbice, this year.

He reminded too that significant improvements were made to several of the university’s facilities at both campuses, while new spaces were developed. And through support from the Ministry of Natural Resources, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), and Schlumberger, UG now has a $2B geotechnical lab for students studying petroleum and mining engineering.

“We also regained the accreditation of our School of Medicine in 2017. That is a special point of pride,” Griffith highlighted, while noting that just this past academic year, hundreds of students have participated in undergraduate research conferences overseas.

Continuing in similar vein, he noted that the new Math and Science Classroom building on campus will be completed soon, while work will begin later this year on a new building to house the Personnel Department and the Bursary.

“As a nation, we are at a critical moment in our national development, and partisan and personal agendas aside, Guyana and the Guyanese people have nothing to gain when important journalistic institutions such as yours facilitate the unquestioned dissemination of the kind of misinformation we have witnessed,” Professor Griffith said.

To quell this, he underscored: “Please know that I as well as other university officials would be happy to offer interviews to provide the appropriate contextual and factual information that can be used in your reporting on the matters that are of critical importance to our national university and our nation.”