The time is right for an opinion poll

Dear Editor,

First of all I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank Mr Anand Persaud for opening a branch of his National Television Network, NTN Ch 26, Cable 77 in Berbice. The launching of this television station in Berbice is long overdue and Berbicians are happy and grateful for rescuing us for what passes for television in Berbice.

Except for TVG Ch12, which is doing a good job, the other three TV stations in Berbice, namely NCN, LRTVS and DTV are doing a poor job of their core function which is to inform and entertain. We are being bombarded day and night by government news and programmes on NCN and by death annoucements, birthday requests and religious programmes during prime time on LRTVS and DTV. Don’t get me wrong, I am not against these programmes, but between 6pm and 10pm we should be seeing programmes on National Geographic, History Channel, Sports Channel that shows different types of sport such as athletics, football, lawn tennis, boxing, etc, and cultural programmes on Zee TV such as Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. The point I am making is that after a hard day’s work we Berbicians would like to relax and watch a good programme before we retire to bed, so that we can wake up refreshed for the next day’s work. Having said that, here is hoping that NTN will fill this void and transform the television landscape in Berbice.

Secondly, with the elections race heating up and a straight fight between the PPP and the AFC-APNU coalition for the first time, I would like to suggest that the time is ripe for an opinion poll to be conducted by a reputable entity or organisation to gauge the mood of the people and their support for the two parties. This opinion poll could be facilitated by Stabroek News with support from the University of Guyana and the foreign missions in Guyana namely the US, Canada, UK and EU.

The results of this poll will give an insight into what the future holds for this country. Go for it Stabroek.

Yours faithfully,

Imtiaz Baccus