Dear Editor,
I wish to refer to your editorial in today’s Stabroek News (March 10) under the caption ‘Time,’ in which you commented on the concerns raised by Mr Vanrick Beresford in a letter published last Tuesday (‘Punctuality is a hallmark of excellence’ SN, March 8) in connection with the launching of the Men’s Affairs Bureau. Particular mention is made of the fact that President Jagdeo did not apologise “for his tardiness.” As the chairperson for the launching ceremony I did mention that His Excellency was unavoidably delayed.
However, when the President arrived he made it quite clear that that he was prepared and ready for the launching ceremony at 3pm, the scheduled time. In fact the President stated quite unequivocally that after he called the Minister at 3pm and then again at 3.20pm, he had to readjust his schedule because most of the invitees were late and as a consequence he was advised that the launching ceremony would be delayed. It would be recalled that the President chided those who were late, particularly ‘men’ since it set a poor example for those who are expected to be leaders in their families, etc. I am surprised that all of this was missed by your reporter.
I therefore write to express my profound disappointment that while your editorial did seek to highlight the problem of tardiness in our society, it failed to correct the inaccuracies surrounding the time that the President arrived for the launching of the Men’s Affairs Bureau.
Yours faithfully,
Trevor Thomas
Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Labour, Human Services and
Social Security
Editor’s note
Mr Beresford stated in his letter that when he arrived at 3pm there were “over sixty or seventy persons there.” Our reporter who was present confirmed that there were quite a lot of people in the Umana Yana at that point.
