The Government has indicated that it will not intrude into editorial policies of the free media in Guyana.
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, during a recent interview with GINA, explained that Guyanese have a right to know what the government is doing since most of what it invariably does, it does with taxpayers’ money.
“…therefore the people who pay taxes must be told and shown what taxpayers’ money is doing. So I’d like to see more responsive public information, a media that fully informs the Guyanese people as to what government is doing,” he stated.
The Prime Minister is of the view that the media, while at the same time informing on the positives and work of the administration, should not shut out what is happening in other sections of the society.
“There would be room always for private and public media, and that the State will have to facilitate by way of the regularity framework to ensure that they remain free and unfettered, and that the government would not intrude into editorial policies of the free media,” he stated.
In 2016, Guyanese can see an expansion of the radio and television reach as the government intends to ensure the establishment of more radio and televisions stations countrywide. Specific emphasis will be placed on the interior communities, in the far- flung Rupununi and the North West districts.
The Prime Minister further stated that, with these infrastructure in place, “we could use the radio and television as a force, not only to unite and inform people, but to harmonise our country so that everyone feels that they’re part and parcel of the national trust, of the national effort, and that we promote a sense of national commitment in all parts of Guyana.”
Meanwhile, on the issue of telecommunications, the Prime Minister is of the view that there is a bigger role in the development of this sector, “as the new digital age is upon us.”
He stated that digital communication should have a reach in all parts of Guyana and the government must have its own satellite uplink, to be able to facilitate the reach throughout Guyana.
“I’d like to see that Guyana has a dedicated department dealing with telecommunications, that we can have wider bandwidth. We could now have the 3 Gs and the 4 Gs so that they could have more data services in all parts of the country. You can have quick Internet. Speed is what is important right now.”
The Prime Minister believes that with the expansion of the sector, jobs will be created for young people.
“We have a very literate population, a population with our own geniuses in the communication field, and so we should not miss out on this technological revolution that is changing the world as telecommunication is one of the biggest part of economies in many, many countries and we are missing out, getting royalties and getting monies from selling our spectrum for use for telecommunication purposes.”
