There are anti-government critics living in and out of this country that are relentless in their condemnations of the policies and actions of the Guyana Government.

It would be extremely unwise for one to even suggest that such people should be stopped. Free speech and other important values simply evaporate when society does not allow people to voice their dissension and disagreements over the use of power.

It is an obligation on the part of citizens, organisations and governments who feel those whose narratives, discourses and polemics are designed to mislead a nation and play with innocent, independent, democratic minds to respond. If they do not do so then they allow the playground of mischief to expand.

But there is another kind of obligation that comes from the critics themselves. They have an obligation to the people who watch, read and listen to them, to explain to them what they mean when they condemn the government and to defend the integrity of the offerings they have publicised.

Failure to do so, leads to accusations of hauteur, hubris, pomposity and expressions of being superior to others, especially the governmental actors they deride.

It is not difficult to detect the arrogant posture of those who want government to be transparent, accountable, principled, ethical and all-inclusive. This picture is easy to see when government defenders turn to them and level accusations of double standards because they practice the very negativities they accuse power-holders of displaying.

I see this hypocrisy on show daily in this country and Guyana is lucky that it has no psychological effects on the citizenry because if it had then democracy would not have survived. We saw this with amazing illumination at the 2023 LGE which concluded two Mondays ago.

As I argued in my column last Monday, if the lunatic fringe, the usual suspects, privately owned newspapers and online media outfits were effective, it was a psychological impossibility for the ruling party, the PPP to survive the 2023 LGE.

For the past three years these formations have been inexorable in their crucifixion on the government that includes the most vulgar, contemptuous and fictional, and overbearing condemnations that included comments on the president’s wife and the clothes he wears from the Stabroek News. Despite this tsunami of contempt, the ruling party chalked up impressive gains in 2023 LGE.

To date, the people who operate an overworked machine of anti-government hatred have rejected request for them to be transparent and accountable. Let’s offer some examples. Who owns certain media houses? Is the public entitled to know this? The Chronicle is governed by a board. The Guyana Times is owned by businessman, Dr. Bobby Ramroop. The Kaieteur News (KN) is owned by Mr. Glenn Lall. Newsroom is owned by the company that operates E-Network.

Who owns Demerara Waves, an entity that is not known for any sympathy for the PPP? It is said, a remigrant that writes a daily column in KN, Stabroek News (SN) and Demerara Waves, is the man behind the outlet. This man is insanely hostile to the government with propagandistic ranting that many times outshone David Hinds.

Who owns SN? Who are the major shareholders? This columnist was told the two majority shareholders are Isabelle DeCaires and current editor, Anand Persaud. Is the pubic entitled to this information? If not, why not?

Mr. Mike Mc Cormack who has been the president of the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) since 1979 (43 years) replied to this columnist to inform him that GHRA has a 12-person board. For 43 years now, no one knows who have been and who are on this board.

Dr. Alissa Trotz edited a column in SN titled, “In the Diaspora” (ITD) for over 10 years now. Not one, I repeat, no one contributor to ITD has been an independent political analyst or someone who sees the government with sympathetic eyes.

All of the contributors of ITD have been people who view the Guyana Government in an unfavourable light. ITD never touched the no-confidence motion, the March 2020 rigged election, the report into the election. Dr. Trotz has refused over the past four years to offer any explanation.

Co-owner of SN, Isabelle DeCaires, has described democracy in Guyana as dysfunctional. This lady administers Moray House, which belongs to her and which holds a monthly symposium on important developments in Guyana. Moray House has never touched the no-confidence month or the five month election rigging.

A month ago, Ms. DeCaires, who is British, holidayed in Guyana and published a scathing castigation of the government for the traffic situation in Guyana. But she is yet to offer her thoughts on the election report. She wouldn’t. Dr. Trotz wouldn’t. Why? The Scot would say, “Ah dunno.”