SXMElections.com

PHILIPSBURG--The recently installed Marcel Gumbs Cabinet appears to have erected a wall between itself and the press by establishing a “Press Secretariat” via which all ministers will communicate to the public. The live weekly Council of Ministers press briefing has been cancelled in favour of the new press secretary holding ad hoc briefings to tell the press what ministers have been working on.

The new Press Secretariat is led by former journalist Michael Granger, now press secretary to Prime Minister Gumbs. A press release issued by the Secretariat on Sunday states that the changes are an effort “to streamline, structure and professionalise the relationship with the media.”

In the absence of the weekly press briefings, the media now can send any inquiries or questions to the Press Secretariat, which then will confer with the relevant minister. Instead of weekly ministers’ briefings, press briefings will be held “on notification” by the prime minister, while other ministers “can host” conferences to address particular issues when necessary.

The press secretary “can host press briefings to relay information from the ministers” to the media when this is necessary.

The weekly Council of Ministers press briefing was not only a forum for the press to learn directly from ministers and pose questions during a live telecast. The briefing aired on St. Maarten Cable TV on Wednesday morning and many residents who sought to obtain information on topical issues directly from ministers also tuned in to it.

The new media rules will give government “a communication facet” that has been long in existence throughout the region and the world, according to the release. St. Maarten is one of the last in the Caribbean to establish a Press Secretariat.

“The volume of work and country priorities that the Gumbs Cabinet has to focus on in 2015 and beyond made the establishing of a Press Secretariat a necessity in order to maintain open communication with the media,” according to the release.

Through the Press Secretariat, the media will have “more of an open door” to the individual ministers by funnelling their inquiries not directly to the ministers’ offices, but via the Press Secretariat.

“Ministers, by nature of their schedules, are not always reachable in time for media deadlines and seldom have the time to respond to e-mails from the media in a timely fashion,” said the Secretariat.

The Press Secretariat will support the Department of Communication DComm with the Prime Minister’s plans for informative programmes using new approaches and technologies. DComm will maintain its role as “the main distributor” of general government information, while the Press Secretariat will handle direct inquiries from the media to the ministers and communication from the ministers to the media.

Joining Granger in the Press Secretariat is communication and social media specialist Alston Lourens, who is attached to the Ministry of Education.