World Press Freedom Day 2023: Govt always “readily available” to provide answers – Min McCoy

The PPP/C Government has posited that, in the wake of recognizing the role of the media in holding office-bearers accountable, it is ‘readily available’ to answer and provide information.
At a reception on Wednesday evening in celebration of World Press Freedom Day, Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame Mc Coy, stated that Government does not dodge the media, and is always willing to engage.
“We are perhaps one of the most readily available sets of Government officials, especially from the Cabinet level, where we are on outreaches after outreaches in communities…We don’t dodge or hide from the media, because we know that you are playing an important role by pursuing us and seeking answers and wanting information,” the Minister claimed.
Mc Coy, who has responsibility for public affairs, contended that his administration also places emphasis on protecting the rights of media workers.
“We will always be the protector of rights in our country at all times. We will always protect the rights of journalists, media practitioners, groups in our society, and every single citizen of this country; and visitors too. We believe that we truly embody the true spirit and meaning of what it is to encourage and facilitate rights throughout our country.”
Mc Coy assured that, in the execution of duties, there will be no interference.
Meanwhile, at a Guyana Press Association (GPA) panel discussion earlier on Wednesday, Canadian High Commissioner Mark Berman used the opportunity to emphasise that the media must be able to report facts freely.
“Indeed, we must celebrate the role of press freedom in providing societies with access to accurate information, allowing for informed decision-making, the nature of threats, and the means to protect health and community. The media, whose work serves to defend and advance the truth, must be allowed to report facts freely and independently,” the diplomat underscored.
In recognizing freedom of the press, Berman called for mechanisms and laws to be enacted to preserve this, since the media is one of the four pillars of democracy.
“The political systems that we chose to care for, that being democracy, rely on it. Media is one of the four pillars of democracy, together with the Legislature, the Executive, and the Judiciary. Each pillar is as important as the other. They all need to be as equally strong and operate independently. The weakness of one of the pillars compromises the democratic process,” he zeroed in.