The Manicou Report

One man says we are living under a dictatorship. The other asks, “What are you talking about? This isn’t dictatorship. Pinochet, now that was a dictator.”

Sometimes it’s so easy to identify with the first guy.

I found this story reading one of my new favourite blogs Media Watch. I never watched more than a few seconds of any of Sasha Mohammed’s pieces on the health system in Trinidad and Tobago this week. So I can’t comment on the veracity of Ms. Mohammed’s information or criticisms of its supposed anti-government slant. However I will admit that her work makes me a little uneasy sometimes. Considering I am no fan of the Government that’s saying a lot.

So the story is that TV6’s Sasha Mohammed does this week-long in depth piece about the health sector from which I gather that the government didn’t look too good. Subsequently the Minister of Health, Jerry Narace, hot under the collar for what he calls “inaccuracies”, “unfair statements” and the “lack of balance”, appears on the TV6 set to be “interviewed” by Sasha Mohammed (in a minute you’ll see why I used quotation marks). However instead of Jerry Narace, Heinrich Himmler shows up at the TV6 newsroom, not to be interviewed, but to inform the nation of the evils of CCN.

***NOTE: Apparently TV6 complained to YouTube about the copyright infringement and the video was removed. Geez, these people know nothing about publicity.***

I would have thought that Minister Narace would have wanted to come in and discuss with Sasha Mohammed the source of her facts and pit his against hers. If I were Minster of Health, I would want to show the nation how she was wrong - embarrass her if I could. Why not let the truth come out? Instead, Himmler comes in, reads off a bunch of stats, and refuses any attempt by Ms. Mohammed to interview him - which is probably the way he wanted it. After all, he is the Minister of Health and his word should count for more than that of a lowly reporter. Once he speaks, the citizenry will shed whatever foolish beliefs they held after viewing Ms. Mohammed’s piece, right?

In essence all Mr. Narace did was to bury the truth in an unmarked grave. How is anyone supposed to find out what the truth is? She said her piece, he said his, but what’s the truth? It occurred to me that Mr. Narace’s appearance on TV6 was not to comfort worried citizens, but to bludgeon them with his stats. As bad as this may sound, this fits in perfectly with my own personal view of Mr. Narace i.e. I’m not convinced he’s in government because of a burning desire to serve the people. I’m also not sure he’s the kind of person that stays up at night worrying about the poor and disadvantaged.

Sasha Mohammed also deserves some criticism for that debacle of an interview. Jerry Narace just can’t walk onto the TV6 set and silence her with his finger. This isn’t a post-cabinet news conference. This was Sasha’s turf and she should have been more forceful in making the Minister know that. Kudos to her for having the testicular fortitude to end the interview, but by that time the damage was done and she had already shown herself to be a tad bit weak. Of course I am just the armchair analyst.