GEORGETOWN – The Department of Public Information’s long-running debt to Stabroek News has surged to a staggering $85.7 million as of the end of October 2025, despite repeated assurances that the outstanding balance would be settled.
The figure was confirmed by Stabroek News General Manager Shaleeza Khan, via an article in the daily, who said the newspaper has been forced to send multiple letters after months of unanswered requests for payment.
According to Khan, formal correspondence was dispatched to Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy, on June 18, July 15, August 8, and September 30, detailing the mounting arrears. None of these letters received an official response.
Only after the final letter was sent did DPI make a payment, covering July 2025 to the tune of $7.6 million, but Khan said she was stunned that DPI opted to settle one of the smallest and most recent bills rather than the substantially larger balances from earlier months.
Following that payment, DPI made two small part-payments of $2.5 million and $2 million on October 9 and October 24 for February 2025. Since then, there has been complete silence. No further funds have been paid toward the massive debt.
In her September 30 letter to McCoy, Khan reminded that DPI continues to violate the newspaper’s credit policy. “Despite my pointing out to you in each of the letters sent regarding the company’s credit period, the DPI has taken no corrective action… We expect the amount outstanding from February to be paid without further delay,” she wrote.
Editor-in-Chief Anand Persaud said the “miniscule” trickle of payments could be poor financial management, or something more deliberate. He noted that the slow drip-feeding of funds places pressure on an independent newspaper and is especially concerning given President Irfaan Ali’s public promise that the matter would be resolved.
Persaud added that the government often touts its commitment to efficiency and transparency, yet the DPI’s handling of this debt directly undermines that message.
He also disclosed that the outstanding government debt was brought to the attention of the Inter-American Press Association and was included in the official press-freedom report at its General Assembly in the Dominican Republic last month.
