OLD Kai has been vindicated once again by the Kaieteur News, popularly known as the “Once upon a time” newspaper. I am sure you can recall in the lead-up to the last elections, (quite conveniently), the Opposition and its supporters in the media, including Kaieteur News, had served to peddle the idea to the public that “Only contractors of a certain ethnicity” were being awarded contracts or for that matter, were involved in this sub-sector altogether. The sinful allegation was premised on the argument that the PPP/C Government through the award of contracts, had “somehow skillfully” managed to sideline Afro-Guyanese from being involved in this sector since 1992.

Old Kai would hesitate to refer to the reality before 1992 when the Opposition was in Government and such behaviour was actually the case. This has already been well ventilated and as such, I will focus on the present. Kaieteur News in its Tuesday edition, quite conveniently cited one of its mysterious “sources”; however, this time around the source is described as “reliable”.
So we are to assume that the “source” of their libellous article on the Cheddi Jagan International Airport was “not reliable”, but yet they went ahead and published these lies which served to attack the integrity of all the staff members.

But back to their new-found “reliable source” as the person identified to be attacked by Kaieteur News on this occasion is an “Afro-Guyanese” contractor executing works along the East Coast roadway expansion. And, here I was thinking that such contractors did not exist, that is if you had believed the Opposition “race hate speeches during the elections” and media houses like the “once upon a time” newspaper, which served to perpetuate this perception to members of the public.

In time, everything is eventually exposed and everyone is brought to account and here we have no other than the messenger unravelling the untruths of its previous messages and even more we are informed that the particular contractor has been awarded yet another contract. Old Kai does not know if the allegations levelled against the contractor by Kaieteur News have any merit, but “not once” is mention made in the article of any attempt to verify the accuracy of the report with either the unswerving Minister of Public Works or any other senior official at the ministry.

This is most alarming as our public needs to be protected from this entity which is clearly not practising “journalism” but is rather running an organised campaign for persons who wish to get even with another or who wish to attack and diminish the possible challenge posed by a competitor in a particular field. It is sounding more and more like “The Godfather” type operation.

How else can one explain the newspaper making no effort to verify very damaging allegations to the particular contractor, which could possibly impact his ability to secure future contracts, thereby affecting the future viability of his company and the security of employment of all his workers?

This callous approach bears the sign of what appears to be a new age “mob hit” rather than “professional journalism”. Surely, that mysterious “reliable source” must be smiling in their dark corner at having the “mission accomplished” and Kaieteur News is smiling with all the money it is raking in.