PRESS RELEASE
University of Guyana Workers’ Union
The University of Guyana Workers’ Union (UGWU) has noted a most nonsensical piece of journalism in the Kaieteur News of Wednesday, January 25, 2012 in relation to the UG Council dismissal of Lecturer, Frederick Kissoon. It has to be one of the worst practices of journalism ever in this country. It cites sources at UG but never a name. It must be the only time in journalism, a newspaper is describing what a public institution tells it but no one at that institution can speak or want to speak for it. The UGWU believes that no official at UG has spoken to Kaieteur News.
UGWU also believes that what followed in that news item was relayed to Kaieteur News’s publisher, Mr. Glen Lall and editor, Adam Harris by Prem Misir. The UGWU knows that both Prem Misir and President Ramotar have spoken to KN on the issue and given it their side of the story. We know that KN has not even attempted to check that information with any authoritative official at UG. KN and Ramotar can deny it which is what we expect

The Kaieteur News also wrote that Kissoon was not the only lecturer terminated but yet failed to name another lecturer who was dismissed. UGWU calls on Kaieteur News to name the authorities at UG that spoke to it and would kindly ask Kaieteur News why such authorities would not want to issue an official statement on the Kissoon dismissal given all the facts that Kaieteur News possesses. We ask the question; is there no official at UG that is bold enough to say it has spoken to Kaieteur News or is it that Kaieteur News is inventing people at UG that it spoke to

Another aspect of ignorance in the news reporting is that the Kaieteur News doesn’t seem to know that only the Vice Chancellor can speak on the affairs of the Appointments Committee and UGWU knows that he has given no interview to the Kaieteur News. UGWU is of the conclusion that Kaieteur News is transmitting what is told to it by the politicians that sit on the UG COUNCIL and President Ramotar

Contrary to what the Kaieteur News published in that very news item, the Vice Chancellor acts on behalf of the Appointments Committee just as how the President acts on behalf of the Government. All the lecturers in question had contracts signed by the Chairman of the Appointments Committee. Kaieteur News is incompetent if it can cite that the Appointment Committee never gave Kissoon a contract but yet the Council has agreed to pay Kissoon in keeping with that very contract. We ask the geniuses at Kaieteur News where the contract came from that the Council has agreed to recognize by terminating it and paying Kissoon according to the very contract. If there was no appointment how can there be a contract. We ask Kaiteur News to explain that. We believe the Guyanese nation would love to see this kind of investigative journalism. We call upon Kaieteur News to insist that its so-called sources give the Guyanese people just one reason why Kissoon’s contract was terminated one week before classes began and to cite the reason it was not allowed to be ended in August, failure to do so would be an abdication of journalistic responsibilities which we wonder how seriously the Kaieteur News takes

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