-region’s broadcasting board to convene first meeting on Friday

THE newly-constituted Board of the Region 10 Broadcasting Incorporated will convene its first meeting on Friday, March 31, in Linden – a necessary step which will pave the way for the mining town to receive its own television station.
At that meeting on Friday, both the Chairperson and Company Secretary will be appointed and their appointments ratified.
According to a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister, stakeholders from Linden met with Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, at the Ministry of the Presidency on Monday. At that meeting, the PM assured stakeholders that all systems are in place to ensure that the television station is handed over to the community.
However, he told them that while the government was eager to hand it over, it was them who needed to ensure that they reached consensus on the trust company to manage the affairs of the television station.
He also pledged government’s support to upgrade and better outfit the facility after it is handed over.
It was reported at the meeting by Sharma Solomon, a member of the Region 10 Broadcasting Trust Company that the Board has been expanded to facilitate fifteen Directors as opposed to four. He said that this was done to ensure broader representation and a wider cross section of stakeholders from Region 10.
Prior to this, the Prime Minister, who has responsibility for public information, was formally written to about the concerns of various stakeholders with regard to the proposed composition of the Board of Directors.
As a result, he invited all stakeholders to two previous meetings with the intention of arriving at a consensus before the handing over of the television station.
Newly appointed Chairman of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) reiterated the position of his predecessor Leonard Craig that the GNBA is prepared to grant a license to the mining town’s Broadcasting Trust to operate the television station.
The handover of Linden TV to the community for their ownership and management was part of an agreement with the previous government following the 2012 uprising which was not honoured by the then government.
Also attending the meeting on Monday were Minister of State, Joseph Harmon and Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Valerie Patterson.