Senior managers at State-owned Government Information Services Ltd (GISL) are leaving the media company.
The exodus comes amid uncertainty over the government’s intentions for the organisation, increasing cash flow issues and threats from suppliers to withhold services.
The Sunday Guardian understands five senior managers have resigned since early this year, in addition to a reduction in staff from 120 to approximately 70.
The company’s accounts manager, a senior accountant, an IT manager, an acting IT manager, internal audit manager and others have resigned due to uncertainty over the future of GISL.
In June, 16 employees left the company as their contracts were not renewed and officials said their jobs had become redundant.
A source at GISL said the company was being denied services by suppliers, and had huge amounts of debt, with one supplier issuing a pre-action protocol letter over nonpayment.
“The cash flow problems aren’t new. They actually began under the last government but things have become noticeably worse.
“The newsroom is virtually non-existent, the company is in a state of limbo as staff are unsure whether the company will still be around in a week or a month,” the source said.
Questioned about the situation at the state enterprise yesterday, Minister of Public Administration and Communication Maxie Cuffie said owing suppliers was normal in the course of business.
“Whether there is a crisis, GISL is a State-owned company. It receives subventions as per obligations by the Government. This is a year where the Government and the Prime Minister publicly, on more than one occasion, said the country has faced lowered revenues and has had to reprioritise expenditure,” Cuffie said.
GISL receives an annual allocation of approximately $18 million.
He said GISL was not immune to the challenges being faced by the economy.
He said in light of these challenges, the Government was examining GISL, CNMG and all State-owned companies in an effort to determine what is the best formula to proceed with delivering their services while keeping in mind fiscal obligations.
“As line minister for GISL and CNMG I expect us to determine a way forward very soon.”
Asked about GISL’s mounting debt, Cuffie said the Government was looking at the matter.
An employee at the organisation confirmed to the Sunday Guardian that employees were uneasy.
“People are being given short-term contracts, some are three-month contracts, and everyone is looking to move on to find some kind of stability,” said the employee.
One of the few departments still active in the organisation is the digitisation of media archives.
The newsroom staff has been cut. IT staff were reduced from 12 in 2015 to four as mass resignations continue. According to Cuffie, who is a former CEO of GISL, a newsroom was never part of the company’s mandate because the company that was supposed to produce news was Caribbean New Media Group (CNMG).
GISL’s problems come as the Government passes the July 2016 deadline, which was recommended by the board for reintegration of the company into the Government Information Services Division (GISD.)
Following the 2015 general election, Cuffie told the Parliament about mismanagement of both GISL and the other state media company CNMG. He spoke of a GISL CEO who was also hired as a consultant for a state company which bought him an SUV vehicle, and a CNMG freelancer collecting “four salaries” under the past People’s Partnership (PP) administration.,
He said GISL and CNMG combined had spent $90 million in 2015, with $50 million spent on the “Government Working for You” initiative.
Following this, a national consultation on the role of state media was initiated by the board of the two organisations, which was then headed by former independent senator Helen Drayton.
The board delivered a report to Cuffie which recommended that the Government dissolve GISL, dispose of its television station TV4, and cease all contract work.
The report recommended that the core operations of GISL be reintegrated with the older GISD.
It said GISL should be dissolved as a limited liability company and GISD restructured to co-ordinate the implementation of government’s information policy and provide services aligned with that particular function, as well as to support ministries and departments with the dissemination of information.
CEO mum
GISL CEO John Barry refused to comment about the state of the company or the exodus of employees and referred all questions to GISL Chairman Timothy Affonso. Affonso replaced Drayton after her resignation within months of accepting chairmanship of the board. Yesterday, the Sunday Guardian called Affonso’s mobile number nine times but received no response.