On the heels of Opposition Leader Kamla Persad Bissessar voicing her disapproval over former PNM candidate Jason Williams being announced as the host of CNC3’s Morning Brew, the UNC has said its representatives will refuse any request to be interviewed on the program.

In a statement on Wednesday, the UNC said: “Citizens should be concerned about this development for a number of reasons. In a democracy, the media is considered the “Fourth Estate”, providing independent scrutiny of both the Government and Opposition. This function of the media is crucial to preventing our country from being ruled by dictators and protecting our Treasury from being raided by them. Indeed, the UNC considers the hiring of this PNM candidate as tantamount to a lucrative campaign donation to the ruling party. This is potentially hours of free air time given to the PNM, day after day, in order to peddle PNM narratives on yet another media station.”

“Due to this development, the UNC has decided that UNC officials, viz., MPs, Senators, Councillors, Aldermen, and the National Executive, will not participate in the CNC3 Morning Brew programme in any way, including live appearances, zoom calls, and by telephone. This is to send a clear message that we will not tolerate this blatant partisanship in our media, this undermining of the role of the fourth estate in providing a check and balance on the government, and this gross disrespect to the official opposition and its over 300,000 supporters.”

Williams, a seasoned media professional, made a diversion into politics in 2020, having been appointed as a government Senator in May.

He later went up for the Barataria/San Juan seat on a PNM ticket in the August 2020 General Election, but was defeated by the UNC’s Saddam Hosein.