THE following is the full text of a statement issued by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, seeking to put to rest widespread speculation about a headline carried in yesterday’s issue of State-owned Guyana Chronicle newspaper:
“THE media corps at Parliament Buildings closed in on me a short while ago, demanding to know whether I had threatened freelance reporter Derwayne Wills with dismissal over today’s headline story in the Chronicle.

“I asked them to speak with the reporter with whom I had a friendly conversation about journalism and ethics of the profession.

“Asked what triggered the conversation, I said that I was disappointed over the Chronicle headline. I AM VERY, VERY, VERY DISAPPOINTED.
The banner headline states: “Government blunders on budget estimates”.

“I have not spoken with the editor over this matter though I felt, as Minister responsible for public information, that the headline did not do justice to what actually transpired, as there was a resolution of complaints by the Opposition that a section of the Budget was not properly structured to bring it in line with requirements of the Guyana Constitution.

“Similar representation has been made during previous Budget presentations of the former PPP government with regards to allocations for constitutional agencies, and had been resolved after bi-partisan consultations, as was the case yesterday, before consideration of the Estimates started.

“The Guyana Government does not agree with the Opposition that the Estimates violate any laws, but agreed to adjust the structure of the Estimates to specify block votes for certain public agencies.

“I had expected that greater care ought to have been exercised by the Guyana Chronicle before coming to the erroneous conclusion that the government had blundered on either the presentation or compilation of the Estimates of Expenditures.

“I had expected better from a government-owned newspaper.”