The APNU has said that it will be embarking on new measures in 2013 to bring the state media to heel since the 2012 budget cuts failed to cause any change in their operations.

Allocations for the state radio and television entity, the National Communications Network (NCN) and the Government Information Agency (GINA) were slashed to $1 each when the budget estimates were considered in April with the opposition parties calling for more professional conduct from the pro-government entities.

At the time government officials and staff had mobilised to protest the move saying that jobs were on the line and that the administration’s ability to get out its message was being jeopardised. At an APNU news briefing on Thursday it was pointed out that there have been no changes at the two agencies despite the cuts and the party was asked what next.

“Not only are they continuing and hiring but they are behaving in the same way and that has been an ongoing concern that we have. I think in 2013 we’ll have to devise other mechanisms to bring NCN and GINA to greater levels of accountability and to behave like public broadcasters,” APNU executive Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine stated.

However, he was reluctant to disclose what steps they would be taking saying only that it was an area in which they intended to place “greater emphasis.”

According to him, the level of misinformation being peddled by the entities, primarily in the far flung areas, was “frightful.”

“It’s to my mind really degrading  in relation to how those people are treated, the misuse of information, misinformation and so on is really a kind of human rights abuse and we have to take it up and take it very seriously on all of those counts.

There are international protocols in relation to media behaviour to which this government is a signatory and we have to attempt to ensure these things are enforced,” Dr. Roopnaraine said.

The government had taken the budget cut issue to the High Court and had used an opinion by acting Chief Justice Ian Chang that there were constitutional provisions in place to address the matter to restore funds to several entities including NCN and GINA.

The opposition has dubbed the move illegal and on Thursday APNU Chairman and Opposition Leader David Granger raised the spectre of sanctions against the finance minister.

“If in any instance it is found that the minister has spent money, or any agency has spent public funds which have not been authorised by the National Assembly they could be sanctioned so when you say the agencies for which the allocations were cut still carrying on merrily we are conducting an investigation to see where the money came from and who authorised it,” he said.