– PM calls for GNBA Board to iron out internal bickering

By Ariana Gordon

PRIME MINISTER Moses Nagamootoo has expressed concern over what appears to be the stymieing of efforts to provide full television and radio coverage to citizens across the country.Speaking to Guyana Chronicle on Monday, the Prime Minister — who has responsibility for the communications sector — noted that draft regulations were sent to him by Chairman of the Board of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA), Leonard Craig, and those regulations were reviewed and dispatched to the Attorney General’s office for further examination.

He explained that, through the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, the AG’s Chambers would have sent the draft regulations back to the GNBA, but no further action has since been taken by the board.

“I am surprised that it has been there languishing in the bosom of the board, or at a sub-committee of the board, and has not been forwarded to me again, so I can pass it through cabinet and then table those regulations in Parliament,” he told Guyana Chronicle.

The Prime Minister said the mandate of the GNBA has been hamstrung, and it was indicated to him, via correspondence from the Chairman of the Board, that there are problems brewing that can assume “crisis dimensions.”

“I responded to the chairman by saying that it seems to be a story internal to the GNBA, that they should summon a meeting of the board and try to sort this thing out.”

The Prime Minister made it clear that the APNU-AFC coalition government made several promises during the lead-up to the May 2015 elections, and intends to keep those promises. He stressed that the administration is impatient and wants to “see all of the licences for televisions issued regularized.”

“We want to see the new applications that we made processed, and they must have new radios and televisions introduced in our landscape,” remarked Prime Minister Nagamootoo.

He said he finds the reports emanating from the GNBA troubling. “I find that troubling because this is one of the boards I expected would have been able to run smoothly and quickly, because there are highly qualified persons within that board…and they should have been able to clean up the issue.”

Asked to provide a timeline by which he expects legislation to be tabled before the National Assembly, the Prime Minister said it is his desire to see the regulations made ready for the reconvening of the Parliament in October.

“Whatever is bothering the board, the internal issues…they should be able to resolve those very quickly and move on…we don’t want to enter the New Year and have that cowboy behaviour that prevailed in the broadcasting landscape,” he declared.

Citizens, he said, deserve better and ought to have access to information. “Guyanese people deserve better…the spectrum belongs to the people of Guyana, it is a national resource; it is not something that belongs to any private person, and one cannot simply arrogate to one’s self the right to broadcast in a select area. I would like to see television and radio cover all parts of Guyana; every citizen of this country has a right to know what is taking place in this country,” he stressed.

The Prime Minister is unprepared to accept in any state board “shenanigans” which hold back work which ought to be done as a matter of priority. “The people deserve better,” he declared.

Asked to comment on the statement he made to the Kaieteur News, which saw him praising the GNBA Chairman, the Prime Minister said he has much confidence in Craig, and noted that his position has not changed. The Prime Minister, “I want to say that I reaffirm that confidence in him. However, I applauded the Authority for having crafted procedures and regulations by which they should work. It has been a great expectation of this Government and the people of Guyana that by now the GNBA would have sorted out the less-than-acceptable television and radio scenario in Guyana.”

He said promises were boldly made to have reviewed the licences granted by the previous People’s Progressive Party Civic government, because they did not confirm to acceptable standards in law. The Coalition government had also promised to have processed all applications on file.

“None of this seemed to have taken place at the level of the board, and while I had said I was pleased with the work, it was in fact a pleasure I had said when I received a copy of the draft regulations with the attached law, Broadcast Act, to set out where and how the board intends to review and to grant new licences.”