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For years
the NDC constantly voiced the need for
Parliament to be broadcast live, even
when radio stations were not willing to
do so. In 2003, the NNP government
decided to broadcast every Parliament
sitting live as a means of keeping the
people abreast with what is happening.
However, within months of getting into
office the NDC government decided to
stop the live broadcast of Parliament.
They claimed that it was too costly for
the government to continue to bring
Parliament live. We are convinced that
the issue is not cost but a deliberate
attempt to try to silence the voices of
Grenadians. It is also an attempt to
prevent them from getting the facts of
NDC’s mismanagement of the country,
another example of the NDC’s deceit.
When in Opposition the NDC said one
thing; now they are in Government they
do the opposite.
We can also
recall when the NDC was in Opposition
they were condemning the NNP for setting
up GIS TV (channel 12), claiming that
there was no need for this channel. We
would expect that when the NDC came into
power, GIS would have been shut down or
its broadcast time reduced. However we
have seen the opposite. Channel 12 now
broadcasts many more programmes and the
staff has also been increased. Recently
GIS aired a programme promoting an
upcoming NDC St. George North East
activity. Wasn’t it the same NDC who
said that GIS should be used for
Government programming and not Party?
These programmes broadcasted on channel
12 are costing the country thousands of
dollars. Many of these programmes now
compete with those broadcasted on other
channels like GBN. If the issue of
broadcast time for Parliament was cost,
then the additional money used in the
broadcast of Channel 12 could have
easily been used to bring Parliament
live. The GIS staff attends and records
the Parliamentary Sittings. The
technology for broadcasting live is
available within GIS and they are
already on air thus there can be no
significant additional cost for the
Government to broadcast Parliament live,
especially when the internet can be used
to stream the signal from Parliament to
GIS who then will broadcast the signal
from the complex to viewers..
The question
of cost is mere tomfoolery. This is
clear evidence that the NDC believes
that Grenadians are foolish.
Today, we
see various attempts by the Government
to silence the voice of Grenadians
coming through our radio programmes. On
a daily basis persons will call the
programmes to air their views and
concerns and to talk about how they are
hurting. These people are told to stop
disrespecting the office of the Prime
Minister. Various persons have also
testified to receiving threats from well
known NDC hawks and supporters. Threats
made followed the lines of “I know where
you live, I know your children” and such
things. Radio personalities are being
threatened as the NDC goes to any length
to try to silence the voice of the
people. They even go as far as getting
family members to turn against each
other. All this is done because the NDC
does not want Grenadians to speak out.
This administration wants Grenadians to
take their death like sheep.
When the NDC
was in Opposition they used the radio
stations to their advantage. They did
not hesitate to spread lies and
propaganda against Dr. Keith Mitchell
and other NNPites. It was no problem for
them to try their utmost to criticize
and condemn the government then. Today
we see that they are not able to accept
freedom of speech, the truth or
criticism. They are already discussing
the introduction of new legislations to
have greater control over media houses
with the help of a “President” who some
NDCites refer to as “tie-to-us”.
NDC’s
priority is to clearly stifle the voice
of the people and destroy the
opposition. It seems that we are quickly
returning to the days of the Revolution
when only one voice should be and could
be heard. But Grenadians would not fall
for “round two”.
It is
shocking how the NDC has changed and
continue to change its position on
various matters since getting into
office. The NDC campaigned in
consultation claiming that the people
should be the ones making major
decisions and not the politicians.
Today, the NDC refuse to listen to the
people when they ask for consultation on
the renaming of the airport and
hurriedly go on to do so at a great cost
to the very people who were not
consulted. Is the NDC honest and
transparent as they claim to be? It
appears that the opposition shares the
views of most Grenadians, that there
must be consultation on a matter like
this and, the NDC Government must tell
us exactly how much money was spent on
the LIVE broadcast of the Airport
renaming? Their overseas guest
accommodation and transportation? The
high end Food and Drinks? The Sound
System, Tents and Chairs? Stationery
among other things?.
In addition
to the lack of consultation many are
questioning why the rush to rename the
airport when the Government claims that
it is not able to provide some basic
needs of the people. It would have been
interesting to know how Maurice would
have felt about the decision to spend
large sums of monies to rename the
airport at a time when: poor people
cannot send their children to school,
when children cannot drink milk because
their parents cannot afford it, when
poor people are unable to make a living
because they are laid off from their
jobs, when the price of basic food items
continue to rise.
We take the
opportunity here to let the NDC
administration know that Grenadians will
never be silenced again. As long as the
Government continues to victimize and
hurt the people of Grenada, they will
speak. As long as they continue to be
inefficient in Government, non
transparent and unaccountable, we will
join our fellow Grenadians and we will
say so. Our voices will be heard.
NNP
Perspective week ending June 5th,
2009
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