The damage done to Guyana by sections of the media will take many years to repair

Dear Editor,

I have just returned from overseas on vacation, and I must say it pains my heart to hear what Guyanese who have been living abroad think about our dear country.

This, I dare say, is as a result of what a few media houses have been reporting about the country, especially Kaieteur News, which is known for spreading lies and misinformation on a daily basis. I have had the privilege of speaking to many persons about their impressions of Guyana, and while I knew that there was a lot of negative publicity given by the media in relation to current happenings in the country, I was in shock to know the depth of such mischief-making.

Editor, the kind of damage done to the image of Guyana abroad may take years to reverse and this is quite unfortunate, considering the tremendous amount of resources that are being allocated to the tourism sector aimed at building the sector and creating more opportunities for our people as a whole. Many overseas-based Guyanese get the impression that the crime rate is extremely high, the roads are bad, people are punishing, and the country is dormant. This is far from the truth.

Because of the continuous, unjustified, negative publicity that is given by sections of the media about events and issues in the country, Guyanese who are eager to return are afraid to do so. Even though our country offers a unique tourism product which cannot be found anywhere else in this part of the world, some visitors are still hesitant about coming to our country.

Not only is such reportage having a negative impact on the tourism sector, but investors are scared away from investing in the country. Guyana needs more investors so that more jobs would be created for our young people and more money would be pumped into the economy. It is ok for the media to take an anti-government stand on issues, but an analysis of the content carried by some media houses will show that there has been an ongoing assault on the authorities as they (Kaieteur News and others) see nothing good in terms of development taking place in the country. This, in my view, is not only a breach of all journalistic principles, but is considered to be anti-nationalist.

Editor, it is very difficult to quantify the damage done to the image of Guyana in monetary terms as a result of the ongoing negative reportage and sheer wickedness by a few media houses bent on achieving their own selfish, partisan, anti-government agenda, but I am convinced that such damage is quite significant.

All Guyanese should take note of these issues and they must hold the media accountable as they (media) hold the government and other public officials and institutions accountable for their actions.

Yours sincerely,

Reginald Agustus