JAN 24

Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office responsible for Information, Senator Einstein Louison, met on Monday with the staff of the Government Information Service (GIS) to discuss the way forward for the Department.

According to a government release, Sen. Louison spoke of a new vision for GIS that could effectively promote the Government's plans, policies and programmes to reach every citizen "by way of creative methods".
The release gave no details about the new method that is propsoed.

However, it said that Sen. Louison reminded the workers that GIS is a major institution to the country that reflects the changes that come with new developments, all for the benefit of the people.

The idea of teamwork was emphasized, as a major factor towards improvement of the GIS products, while education and training of staff must be priorities.

Concern was expressed for what Senator Louison noted was the misrepresentation of facts in some quarters, as it relates to information on Government happenings, and against this, he says, GIS must erect safeguards.
He urged workers to have a positive image going into the future.

Members of Staff expressed the view that GIS should be restructured to fit directly within the broadcast fraternity, the need for specialisation of labour and the roles of individuals to be clearly defined, reward for extra work, effective utilisation of human resources, as well as the need for greater discipline.

Sen. Louison complimented the staff on the points made towards the way forward for the information arm of the Government, stressing the fact that the Department must be able to make good use of scarce resources.
"We have to make the best out of what we have. We have to maximize resources to save. We are a small developing country and we have to be careful about excesses.

The Government Information Service took on a new approach in 1997 and expanded its audio/video programming to four hundred and ten minutes of broadcast air-time per week.