President Granger asks media to be “tolerant”

…says busy schedule reason for no press conferences

In defending why he has not held a press conference in months and why there were fewer formal engagements with the media, President David Granger has said that his schedule was a major factor.
“My heart is in the right place, but right now, I’ve had a really difficult period of public engagement and overseas travel,” the President told the media on the sidelines of an event on Monday.
“This time last week I was in Montego Bay, the week before I was in Da Nang, Vietnam. It could be a very challenging period and soon as I get the opportunity I will engage with the press, but I’ve been travelling quite a lot … I’m asking the media to be tolerant,” the President said.
He noted that he also has to deal with several local issues. “It could be a challenging period and as soon as I get the opportunity, I would engage with the press, but I’ve been travelling quite a lot and then to deal with domestic issues – the sugar industry, we have to deal with the petroleum industry, I have to deal with crime and security,” he explained.
The Guyana Press Association and other groups, including the Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP), have urged Granger to meet with the press.
These groups have also criticised Government for its silence on a number of matters of national importance, calling on the President to toughen up and face the entire local media corps.
The GPA had acknowledged that the President was not averse to speaking with the media on the sidelines of public events or during his “Public Interest” televised programme; however, the Association believes that accountability to the Guyanese people would be best served through press conferences.
Public officials under the coalition Government have gone mute for a while now. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, who has responsibility for public information, is also unavailable to the media and does not host press conferences to update the media or the public on what is going on with his office or the Government.
Political analysts and commentators have noted that there was a new culture seemingly developing whereby Ministers of Government were abusing and assaulting the media directly when displeased with a specific line of questioning, coverage of an event or editorial position of a newspaper on a particular matter.
After two years in office, President Granger held a press conference in December 2017, only the second since the coalition came into Government in May 2015.