ALTHOUGH People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday clarified the misinformation surrounding the recent aircraft that were purchased from India, Kaieteur News misrepresented the facts regarding their cost.

This is not the first time the newspaper has found itself at the centre of criticism, as there have been instances where persons have been forced to file lawsuits against them for false publication.
“Guyana borrowed to buy two airplanes for the price of four” was the headline in the Friday edition of the Kaieteur News.

The rest of the story reads: “The Government of Guyana has borrowed a US$23.27 million loan from India to buy two Dornier 228 airplanes from an Indian Aeronautics Company when they could have gotten four for the same price.”

It then states that the Indian government purchased six similar planes for its air force from the same company at a price of US$31.9 million.

The newspaper then quoted the Economic Times as stating, “The Defence Ministry on Friday (March 10, 2023) sealed a deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to procure six Dornier aircraft at a cost of Rs 667 crore for the Indian Air Force”, and then posited that Rs 667 Crore is equivalent to US$31.9 million; this means that the Indian Government purchased six of the same aircraft from the same company at a price of US$5.3 million for one.

Utilising a conversion tool, it was, however, easily determined that Rs 667 crore is equivalent to just over US$80 million.

During a press conference on Thursday, Dr. Jagdeo responded to several allegations from the Opposition surrounding the purchase of the aircraft.

He said: “These aircraft were not bought by the Government of India and sold back to the Government of Guyana… Let me give you the details…So, the two aircraft were bought from the Indian government; these are aircraft that are new,” while underscoring that the new aircraft were bought at $8 million each.

He then pointed out that the government purchased $6.23 million worth of spares for these two aircraft, including reserve engine, propellers, etc. and then spent about another million on the training of 19 persons, including the pilots, engineers and technicians flying the aircraft to Guyana. Further, engineers were sent from India to Guyana to work with the government for six months.

“So, the total is US$23.37 million. But for the aircraft themselves, it is US$16 million [in total] for the two,” he said.

The PPP General Secretary then went on to say: “We bought these aircraft from the company that manufactures them in India, directly.”

There have been consistent efforts by the Kaieteur News to discredit the government, and, moreover, the publisher, Mr. Glen Lall, has been accused of using the newspaper as a propaganda machinery to advance his known political ambitions.

Just last month, the newspaper was forced to apologise to the government and the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) for false publication.

Furthermore, on several occasions, Dr. Jagdeo, had reason to call out the Kaieteur News for its frequent “distortion” of facts.