A total of 23 employees including senior editors, reporters, and cameramen, have signed a petition which has been submitted to President Dr Irfaan Ali for the removal of Tajeram Mohabir as the Editor-in-Chief of the State-owned Guyana Chronicle newspaper.
In the petition, it is alleged that Mohabir demonstrates poor leadership and he was blamed for the high turnover rate at the organisation.
“Mr Mohabir has become well-known for his lack of support, deception, and nominal concern for the welfare of the staff, most times casting blame on them for egregious errors that he would have made,” the petition contended.
“He provides little to no guidance to reporters and his lack of communication and leadership has led to poor coordination and results in the ineffective functioning of the department,” the petition added.
The petition says the removal of Mohabir as Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper would facilitate the development of the editorial department in a way that would “attract and retain staff”.
It is also alleged that the Editor-in-Chief has sought to undermine the abilities of employees by making unjustified and dishonest statements.
“There are cases where Mr Mohabir has taken full credit for the hard work of other employees and this can be corroborated in the minutes of a Board meeting where he said he does 99 per cent of the work at the State newspaper,” the petition outlined.
Mohabir, who has been Editor-in-Chief at the Guyana Chronicle since October 2020, has since committed to stepping down from the position once an investigation finds him culpable, reports online news agency Demerara Waves.
