Media Communication Academy to be launched soon

Government will soon launch the Media Communication Academy to increase the capacity of media workers in Guyana.

Defending National Budget 2022, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy, M.P, noted that the budget caters for the upskilling of media operatives, to ensure there is better delivery of messages, in more creative forms.

“In a few weeks, we will fill the void for the world class industry skills and qualifications across the local spectrum, with the introduction of the Media Communication Academy, in collaboration with a world-renowned online platform Coursera.”

Minister McCoy said through the courses, registered learners will gain international certification and elevate their professional profile to accredited specialists or expert practitioners.

Noting that the academy will be a “game-changer” for Guyana’s information landscape, the public affairs minister said the media will evolve into the digital future, becoming more responsive, in line with the government’s national development agenda.

“Guyana can ill afford rampant wild-west misinformation schisms and schemers running on leaded opposition gasoline, seeking to the derail progress, divide our fragile society and destabilise our fledgling democracy.

The public affairs of this country must be managed in a way that safeguards citizens’ fundamental freedoms,” Minister McCoy noted.

Additionally, the minister reminded the house that hundreds of youths from across the country have been trained in basic Information Communication Technology; a programme that will continue in 2022.

Minister McCoy also defended the budget in its entirety, noting that all measures will add to the betterment of the lives of every Guyanese.

He affirmed that a budget with no new taxes is a hallmark of the PPP/C Government.

“We are a government that first of all understands the needs of people. We take the needs of every Guyanese into consideration, we make programmes, policies, measures to address those problems and those needs and that is what we will continue to do.”

In Budget 2022, Government proposes to increase;

• Old Age Pension from $25,000 to $28,000

• Because We Care cash grant from $19,000 to $25,000

• School Uniform cash grant from $4,000 to $5,000

• Public Assistance from $12,000 to $14,000

This is among a myriad of other measures to ease the increased cost of living.