Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton dispatched on Thursday, a “Request for Access to Official documents” to Commissioner of Information Charles Ramson. The request was made under the Access to Information Act 2011 and pertains to the programme logs of the National Communications Network (NCN) during its coverage of this year’s Budget Debate in the National Assembly.
The request extends to all NCN stations, including those in Georgetown, Linden, and Berbice.
This request follows a press statement issued on January 19th, 2023, in which Norton declared that “The State media is obligated to also cover the views and activities of the Parliamentary Opposition in a fair and objective manner.”
He had noted that NCN is funded by taxpayers’ dollars and therefore, the agency has an obligation to its funders.
“It must cover the people’s representatives during their participation in national events as critical as the national budget debate. In so doing, NCN must ensure that such coverage is fair in terms of program schedule, duration, rebroadcasts, and relays.”
The programme logs that Norton has requested will be used to determine if NCN has honored its obligation to the people of Guyana. As a result, this request signifies a continuation of Norton’s previous efforts to ensure that the State media remains impartial in its coverage of national events.
