Latest update March 29th, 2024 12:59 AM
Apr 29, 2013 News
– PSC
The Private Sector Commission is concerned that President Bharrat Jagdeo before demitting Office in 2011, issued radio licences and frequencies outside of the Broadcasting Act and was unfair in the distribution process.
This assertion was made by PSC’s Executive Member, Kit Nascimento during a brief interview with this publication last week at the Georgetown Club, where the body held a press conference.
“Those licences were issued outside the current law; they were issued by the President at the time under the Wireless and Telegraphy Act and its regulations which did not provide for public hearing and provided very few criteria in which to assign them”, Nascimento said.
According to Nascimento, Government has publicly assured the PSC that those licences issued are under review by members of the Broadcasting Authority that were only appointed last year under President Donald Ramotar.
But that does not necessarily satisfy the PSC, which believes that all the licences issued should satisfy the criteria of the Broadcasting Act, which is a competitive application as outlined in the Act, he added.
Less than a week before Jagdeo left office he had announced 10 new radio licensees. He was reported as saying that the licences were granted from 55 applications that had been on file.
The method of selection was never disclosed.
Jagdeo’s close associate, Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, was awarded five radio channels; New Guyana Company Limited five and Telcor and Cultural Broadcasting Inc. another five.
Telcor’s contact person is Omkar Lochan, who happens to be the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, a Ministry headed by Minister Robert Persaud.
New Guyana Company is the one that publishes the party’s newspaper, Mirror, and whose contact person is PPP’s Member of Parliament (MP), Dharamkumar Seeraj.
There has been widespread condemnation of the allocations of the licences by local media bodies, including the Guyana Press Association (GPA) and the Guyana Media Proprietors Association (GMPA).
The issuance of two cable licenses to two of Jagdeo’s closest friends, Vishok Persaud and Brian Yong, emphasized the extent of control that was and still is being exercised over the national spectrum.
According to Nascimento, “with regards to the distribution of licences and frequencies we would expect the law as it is to be wholly observed and any granting of licences and frequencies that are in conflict with that law should be regularized”.
Nascimento said that the PSC does not endorse the Broadcasting Act as it is and is currently reviewing the Act. As such, his comments on the Act are not reflective of the PSC’s.
He noted that for a long time Guyana did not have a Broadcasting Act and now that one exists the way in which it is written is questionable. In his opinion, the composition of the board does not reflect international best practices.
He said that usually in democratic countries selection of the board reflects a wide cross section of the society as a whole. “It is not usually left to the President only to appoint it,” Nascimento said.
The Executive Member said that the Act as it is currently written gives undue influence and decision making power to the Minister responsible for Information who in this particular case is the President.
“The board could be overruled the way it is currently written by the President…How the members are appointed is questionable and the influence the Minister has in the Board itself… the ultimate decision making power rests with the Minister”, he stated.
According to Chairman of PSC, Ronald Webster, the Commission only became aware of the distribution of the frequencies recently through statements by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds.
He said that the PSC is not a huge organization and there are a number of other commitments and concerns which probably over arch this particular issue but the body is definitely looking at it. Webster said the PSC is still awaiting additional information.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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