The Government, via its Public Affairs Secretariat, is working through a partnership approach to build a comprehensive media network that can be maximised to effectively promote Guyana and its products.
This is according to Kwame McCoy, Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Public Affairs. As the national budget debates commenced on Monday, Minister McCoy said that a component of the $383.1 billion 2021 budget caters for the revamping of the state media apparatus, to ensure that it adds to the national efforts of marketing Guyana.

“Through the regional/international media network, we are establishing partnerships that will allow for the effective marketing of Guyana and its products, while showcasing the vast opportunity in the new economic frontier expected to build our new, multidimensional economy,” McCoy indicated.

To this end, the minister said that the new, competent Boards of Directors have been installed to ensure that each state media agency adheres to the tenets and best practices of good reporting, while fulfilling its mandate of providing adequate and comprehensive communication and content to the people of Guyana.
McCoy said that the government’s Public Affairs Secretariat has already designed new integrative communication programmes as well as initiatives to counteract harmful race baiting and other negatives being peddled in and about Guyana.

“The government has acquired state-of-the-art virtual property including equipment and developed content-sharing platforms to reach Guyanese audiences, wherever in the world they might be, because this year, the transformation of our beloved country begins, and all progressive Guyanese must be involved,” Minister McCoy posited.

He went on to rubbish the main political opposition’s claims that the latest budget was compiled without proper consultation, maintaining that the transformational budget and the programmes contained therein, were designed to cater to needs of the Guyanese people.

“We on this [government] side [of the National Assembly] are committed to making Guyana work for all of us by ensuring that the goods and services; the resources; those allocated in the budget for 2021, and those that will come in the future, are for every single Guyanese boy, woman, child, family,” McCoy insisted.
The minister believes that the allocations are all in keeping with all the development that Guyana is poised to experience within the coming months. “Budget 2021 offers a transformative path for Guyana…this budget will lay new foundation of resilience,” McCoy said.

He maintained that in order for the country to progress, comprehensive efforts will have to be made to ensure that the benefits of Guyana’s resources trickle down to all citizens. The minister emphasised the importance of Guyanese to coming together, and invited the member of the Opposition to join the government’s efforts to unite the country.

Meanwhile, in his presentation, Christopher Jones, Chief Whip of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC), complained that budget 2021 contained no COVID-19 recovery plan and criticised the execution of the COVID Relief Cash Grant.

Jones also claimed that the budget contained no stimulus packages for businesses.