…Ramjattan said Bill similar to what he previously presented
THE National Assembly yesterday passed the historic Broadcast Bill with a number of amendments in a session that saw the PNCR-1G walking out citing the lack of consultation and a departure on Government’s side from commitments agreed upon by Government and Opposition in a May, 2003 Communiqué.
The Bill had been tabled by Prime Minister Sam Hinds at the previous sitting of the National Assembly last week Thursday.
The Bill, when enacted, will make provision for the establishment of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority, which will be responsible for the regulation, supervision and development of the National Broadcasting System, to provide for its functions, and to provide for the licencing of broadcasting agencies and the encouragement of production and broadcasting of television and radio programmes which have relevance generally to the life and culture of the Guyanese people.
Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Robert Corbin, speaking before the commencement of the debate on the Bill, stood up to register his chagrin at what he described as the failure on Government’s part to consult on the Bill. He said that he attempted to seek to have the Bill deferred or sent to a special select committee, but to no avail.
“The PNCR will not participate in this farce. The APNU Government would revoke this legislation,” Corbin said, before leading the pack of PNCR-1G members out of the National Assembly. At this point, PPP Member of Parliament and Presidential Adviser on Governance Ms. Gail Teixeira stood up and said that there has been no official request to have the Bill deferred or sent to a special select committee. This was echoed by the newly and temporarily appointed Speaker of the National Assembly Mr. Anil Nandlall shortly thereafter.
Speaking on the Bill that he piloted a week earlier, Prime Minister Hinds said that it was regrettable that Corbin and his party members were not there to participate in the debate on the Bill, saying that this is one demonstration of how vexed the Bill has been.
The PM said that there have been a number of drafts of broadcast legislation over the past 19 years that the PPP/C has been in Government. And he said that over this period, there has been some amount of acrimony, bitterness and frustration over its provisions.
He said it was useful to step back and recall how the broadcast industry in Guyana evolved over time. He noted that the Bill does not seek to undo what pioneers in television have done but to advance it. This said, he commended the early television pioneers, such as C.N. Sharma, Anthony Vieira and Rex McKay.
The PM explained that after the Government changed in 1992, many supporters of the PPP/C approached Government for permission to operate radio stations, but the Government held its ground and said no, “so as not to create an imbalance.”
“We have been balanced and even-handed in what we have been doing,” said Prime Minister Hinds. “We had made a commitment to bring a Broadcast Bill. We regret that we had to bring this Bill and not the one that had been agreed upon by all sides,” he said.
“This is a PPP Bill, [which seeks] to enact a Broadcasting law which we believe is good for Guyana, whomever is in Government,” Hinds said.
He said that in the Bill it is clearly identified who is accountable for various actions. He noted that it is the Board of the entity that runs the broadcast sector and which will give a hearing to those affected by its decisions.
Speaking during the debate, Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader Mr.  Khemraj Ramjattan said that, notwithstanding the imperfections of the Bill, his party is supporting it. He said that the Bill passed closely resembles one that he had circulated in the National Assembly in 2009. He wanted to know why the Government was bringing the Bill at what he called the 11th hour. He is of the view that the Government did not want to pass the Bill earlier so as to frustrate the prospects of persons hoping to bring their television services on stream.
Speaking during the debate, Teixeira said that the electro-magnetic spectrum is the country’s national asset, and as such the State has the responsibility to manage it. Teixeira said that Government made efforts to meet and do the legwork for the eventual passage of the Broadcast legislation, since it felt that the operation of the Advisory Committee on Broadcasting (ACB) has been deficient for a very long time.
She said too, that the Bill benefitted from a range of interventions over the years, such as Constitutional amendments.
“The Bill is not a perfect one but it has benefitted from experience at the political level and through technology and the experience of other countries,” Teixeira said.
She noted that Opposition members objected to the power of the minister to make appointments to the Broadcast Authority and this she called a moot point, since similar legislation around the Commonwealth makes the same provision.