THE United National Congress (UNC) will not be participating in the Morning Brew Programme on CNC3 following the hiring of Jason “JW” Williams as the new host of the show.
The party in a press release on Wednesday stated that citizens should be concerned that Williams, a People’s National Movement (PNM) candidate in the 2020 general election, was selected to be the show’s host.
Williams who was appointed a senator in May 2020, vied for the Barataria/San Juan seat which was won by UNC’s Saddam Hosein.
UNC’s public relations officer Dr Kirk Meighoo said, “In a democracy, the media is considered the ‘Fourth Estate,’ providing independent scrutiny of both the Government and Opposition.
“This function of the media is crucial to preventing our country from being ruled by dictators and protecting our treasury from being raided by them.
“Indeed, the UNC considers the hiring of this PNM candidate as tantamount to a lucrative campaign donation to the ruling party. This is potentially hours of free air time given to the PNM, day after day, in order to peddle PNM narratives on yet another media station.”
He further added, “It is amazing that, in a country with a vast storehouse of talent, CNC3 can always find PNM candidates and outright lobbyists to host their programmes. This is a danger to democracy and the treasury.”
All UNC officials including Members of Parliament, senators, councillors, aldermen, and the national executive, will not participate in the CNC3 Morning Brew programme in any way, including live appearances, zoom calls, and by telephone.
“This is to send a clear message that we will not tolerate this blatant partisanship in our media, this undermining of the role of the fourth estate in providing a check and balance on the government, and this gross disrespect to the official opposition and its over 300,000 supporters,” Meighoo said.
