What organization was Mr. Anand Persaud representing in the discussion? Mr. Anand Persaud was representing Stabroek News as the Editor-in-Chief.
How long has Mr. Persaud worked as a journalist? Mr. Persaud has worked as a journalist for 35 years.
What does Mr. Persaud say is one of the greatest satisfactions of working in journalism? He says one of the greatest satisfactions is helping ordinary people who are unable to get the system to work for them.
What recent award did Mr. Persaud receive related to human rights and journalism? In 2022, Mr. Persaud received the European Union Delegation Human Rights Award.
How has the current government’s relationship with civil society groups been since taking office according to Mr. Persaud? Mr. Persaud says the government has closed off space for civil society groups and continuously inspected what they are doing.
How long did Mr. Persaud say it took the current government to take office after the 2020 election? He said it took 5 months for the government to take office after the 2020 election.
What concern does Mr. Persaud raise about the speed of Guyana’s infrastructure spending? He is concerned projects may fail because contractors cannot deliver at the pace, and there is not enough human capacity to properly oversee the projects.
What does Mr. Persaud say people at the bottom cannot afford as prices rise? He says people at the bottom cannot afford rising costs of basic food items and services as demand rises at the top.
When does Mr. Persaud say Guyana’s first oil production started? He says Guyana’s first oil production started in December 2019.
What regulatory body does Mr. Persaud say still needs to be established 3 years into oil production? Mr. Persaud says a petroleum regulatory commission still needs to be established, despite promises from the government.
What mechanism does Mr. Persaud suggest the parliamentary opposition should use more to provide oversight? He suggests the opposition should make more use of parliamentary sectoral committees to provide oversight and call witnesses.
What two judiciary positions does Mr. Persaud say raise concerns about Guyana’s judicial system? He raises concerns about the acting Chancellor and Chief Justice positions, whose holders have to date not been confirmed.
Why does Mr. Persaud say it has been hard to reform the NIS pension system? He cites decades of outward migration and breakdown of systems making it hard to update records digitally.
Why does Mr. Persaud say it is hard to politically mobilize Guyanese to protest poor government services? He says the ethno-political divide makes it hard for government supporters to mobilize against their party.
What factor does Mr. Persaud say restrains Venezuelan aggression against Guyana? He says Brazil has historically deterred Venezuelan boundary aggression due to their shared trilateral border junction area.
