Dear Editor,
Thank you for that commentary “We hold the Government to its promise to honour Freedom of the Media”. There must be relative equity in distribution of state ads. No media house should be favored. Ads help the media to do its job.
The media is charged with holding the government accountable. The nation looks to the media to report news about government (and other events) and to expose wrong doings. The media must constantly ask questions. And the public must also utilize the media to pose questions to the government.
On equity, government must also be fair in its award of contracts. Those affiliated with the government must not get all the contracts.
It is noted that V.E Enterprises gets more than a fair share of contracts in infrastructure work. It seems like a preferred choice to get a lot of contracts to do emergency works through the Ministry of Agriculture. V.E Enterprises does not have a very long history of government works. It is a newly formed company with limited experience in state contracts. It has been awarded a lot of government emergency contracts over the last few months all over the country.
How is it possible for a contractor based in Port Mourant with minimal experience in infrastructure being awarded emergency contracts all over country? Does this company have any connection with the Minister of Agriculture or some other individuals at the Ministry?
Were well-established contractors who tendered for these very same contracts early in the year prevented from getting them in order to create emergencies? Are legitimate bids being nullified to create emergencies that are then turned into scams?
Yours truly,
Dharmendra Lalji