The attack against Express reporter Anna Ramdass by Information
Minister Neil Parsanlal was cleverly buttressed by a release
from the PNM that saw no sin in the use of taxpayers’
money to advertise the fact that the new Prime Minister of
Grenada was going to pay an official state visit to T&T.
The PNM’s release said: “The promotion of the visit
is no different from the promotions done for the visits of
the presidents of Uganda and Ghana.”
The party considered “this attack on its leader, describing
him as ‘Mr Show-off,’ to be yet another example
of the lack of fairness by a reporter.
Private jet
“This story was clearly calculated to bring the PM and
the PNM government into disrepute.”
It called on the reporter to apologise for “this international
faux pas.”
The article that caused such great consternation led off with
criticisms from eminent political scientist, Prof Selwyn Ryan,
who saw it as an unnecessary abuse of public funds.
“These are vanity ads. I can’t believe that we are
paying for that ad. That will be totally ridiculous. It is
extravagant and uncalled for,” said Dr Ryan. “We're
happy to welcome the Prime Minister of Grenada, but an ad
of this sort, given the cost, is totally uncalled for and
a wasting of public funds.”
Mr Ryan does not normally rush to criticise the government,
and his outrage in this regard is reflective of the seething
rage people on the ground feel over such scandalous expenditure
at a time when the cost of living is moving beyond the reach
of so many, and the standard of living is under threat by
criminal elements.
Perhaps, Parsanlal (whose noblest claim to fame is the oft-repeated
claim that he is “the quintessential dougla”—as
if this somehow makes him smarter, more Trini or impervious
to criticism) should try explaining why it is necessary for
the Government to spend money advertising such a visit (including
the cost of a private jet and all):
n to the sick people who cannot get a bed in San Fernando
General Hospital;
n the hungry that cannot afford a decent meal, because of
the astronomical price of food;
n the annual predictable flood victims who now face desperate
financial ruin, or
n the parents of kidnap victim Nial Ali from Gasparillo whose
son cannot be found after two agonising months of attention
from the ridiculously under-resourced Anti-Kidnapping Squad.
Parsanlal’s justification for the advertisement included
the following gem:
“The history of the Caribbean is evolving as we speak.
And the prime ministers have been changed in several countries.
We don't want to wait until that history is recorded, documented
and published in a book somewhere.
“So we decided to put out information that is live and
current and that can be used by students, as well as by the
general population and the media.
“So the people who are seeing it as the Prime Minister
'showing off' have, therefore, missed the entire point.”
There was no explanation as to why the usual comprehensive
national and regional media coverage would not have sufficed.
Coverage by the national media, which includes state-owned
and government-friendly television and radio stations, and
the regional media coverage would have been more than adequate
for this purpose.
Media coverage of such meetings has traditionally been quite
good, and Mr Tillman’s election was well- documented
here as media houses covered the Grenada general election
in detail.
Salt in wounds
Parsanlal is the one that has completely missed the point.
These advertisements reflect the arrogance and megalomaniac
tendencies of a government led by a typical Caribbean tin-god
with an exaggerated sense of self-importance.
Flying in regional and international leaders and then unnecessarily
advertising the visit is like rubbing salt into the wounds
of the people at a time when many are forced to flee their
homeland because of uncontrollable crime and poor service
from under-resourced state agencies.
An official press release from the Office of the Prime Minister
to the media would more than suffice, as such (necessary)
state visits are always well covered.
Parsanlal’s response maintains the arrogance of the Government.
He condemned the biased article against the Government for
not carrying the Government’s response, but cleverly
omitted to mention the fact that he did not return the reporter’s
repeated calls to his cellphone.
He ended on a typical PMN high note, issuing the not-so-veiled
threat that the newspaper was free to decline carrying government
advertisements if it felt they were wrong.
The coded message is clear: watch it or else advertising revenue
from the Government could dry up and your competitors who
favour us could profit at your expense!
Dangerous foolishness and quintessential PNM arrogance from
a government with dictatorial tendencies.
Not ah damn dog must bark, they say.
