General Manager of GTV, Mohamed Sattaur, said yesterday that the agreement between the company and former Miss Guyana/World Olive Gopaul does provide for her to do producing and presenting for the GTV News Unit.

Gopaul had told this newspaper during an interview on Tuesday that her contract with the television company was only for anchoring of the news and not for producing and presenting programmes.

However, in the written agreement which was shown to this newspaper yesterday by Sattaur, Gopaul agreed to “producing and presenting for GTV News Unit on alternative [sic] days with effect from May 12, 2003.”

The former queen has claimed that the management of the television station has breached her one-year contract, by dropping her as anchor and has threatened legal action.

She told this newspaper that on October 29 when she had returned to work Editor-in-Chief, Wilfred Cameron, told her that she was suspended with immediate effect because she was participating in the pageant. She said upon asking for a reason for her suspension she was informed that it was necessary because she would have an advantage over the other delegates. However, Sattaur told this newspaper that Gopaul’s removal from anchoring the news was to allow her time to compete properly at the pageant.

Gopaul also told this newspaper that on Monday her lawyer had made contact with Sattaur to sort out the matter and was told that she was involved in too many public activities.

Sattaur, in a letter to this newspaper yesterday, clarified that Gopaul had failed to properly notify the company of her participation in the Miss Guyana/Universe pag-eant, but had indeed given one week’s notice of her absence from duty last month.

Sattaur said Gopaul had an agreement to function as a part-time presenter for GTV. “I can honestly say that I was challenged to find a replacement for her in one week and that I consider myself fortunate to have secured the services of the veteran reporter/ presenter Natasha Waldron on such short notice.”

He said that Gopaul’s agreement does not provide for protracted absences and provides for payment at a specified rate “per session” from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. He said Gopaul’s claim that she would only be paid when she anchored the news was misleading, as she was entitled to pay each time she showed up and functioned for a two-hour period in the capacity of presenter or producer.

Sattaur said too that at no time was Gopaul advised that she would be prevented from doing work for GTV and as such he would challenge the claim that her right to be meaningfully employed was violated. “All that be as it may however, I am still of the opinion that the new arrangement with Gopaul will be less demanding on her and would provide her with more opportunity to concentrate on her current public commitments.”

Gopaul described the company’s action as rash, quoting clause four of the contract which states, “either party agrees to give one month’s notice in writing to the other party should the agreement be adjusted to change any clause of the contract.”

She stressed that if she were being shifted from anchoring to producing, she should have been notified one month in advance.