— says efforts to operationalise Linden TV being stymied

SEVERAL executive members of the Region 10 arm of the Alliance for Change (AFC) have expressed dissatisfaction and frustration over the non- operationalisation of the Linden

Television Station, although it was handed over to the town by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo.

Reference was made to the abrupt ending of the first meeting convened by the newly constituted board held two weeks ago, which was aimed at electing a chairman and secretary.

This publication later learnt that the meeting ended after several members walked out after it was voted upon to have the elections done by secret ballot.
As a result of this, Lindeners are concerned whether the next general elections will come and the station will still not materialise.

It has been six years since the agreement was signed by the former administration and former Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon, and one year, nine months since the Coalition Government assumed office.

AFC Member of Parliament (MP) and Executive for Region 10, Audwin Rutherford, who was present at the meeting, believed that the directors, who walked out, do not have the interest of Lindeners at heart.

“It is clear that many of the directors are looking for personal glory and do not have the people at heart,” he said, reiterating, that the intention of the meeting was to solely elect the chairman and secretary.

“I am prepared to work with whoever is elected in a democratic way and that is what every

citizen I have spoken to wants,” the Member of Parliament said.

BLIND DATE
Linden Mayor Carwyn Holland, who admitted that he was the first to walk out of the meeting and was then followed by several present, said his move was merely a protest to the failure of the acting secretary, Sharman Solomon to provide pertinent legal documentation, as was requested by the newly-constituted board members.

He believes that the back and forth in the media will not solve the problems but the releasing of those documents by Solomon in a timely manner.

“I don’t subscribe to the back and forth in the press, I do not believe in [that] public naming and public shaming will be good for any development, and as such, I wish that there will be maturity in all of this and that people would sit and agree to disagree,” Holland said.

“The minutes of the meeting would prove [that] I asked some basic questions about legal documentation that was promised since the meeting in GT… I got up and moved a motion for the meeting to be aborted earlier since we were clueless as to certain answers which was posted to the secretary and he could not have answered… the motion was seconded; however, the chairman did not move forward, he just disallowed the motion I moved and he said we are going to move ahead with this meeting,” Holland said, reiterating that he felt as though the directors were being carried on a blind date as those documents are not being released and that is what is stumbling the operationalisation of the station.
“I think it will only be prudent if we are furnished with the rules, what we are voting for, what we are governed by, the articles of association, we need to see these things.”

SILLY EXCUSES
AFC executive member and mayoral candidate for the Ambassador for Progress, Norris King, believes that the APNU politicians are making silly excuses in blaming their decision to walk out on the absence of the presentation of the documents and that those actions were strictly based on their inability to control the elections, which show that they do not have the residents of Linden at heart.
“Their actions would have confirmed same, why do you have to walk out of a meeting where the elections of the board members is supposed to be done to move the process forward, just because it goes to secret ballot… election should be a private affair so why should it be open,” Norris said, adding that he believes that the residents of Linden should take a stand in this matter since the television station belongs to them.

“It is for the Linden community to recognise and acknowledge that this is what we should have known and expected from these people in the first place. you can’t expect better from them and it is time for us to rally ourselves as a people and let the President and everybody else know that the irresponsible actions of these people would not be tolerated by the community because if the community would not put their foot down on it, it would never stop… is either their way or no way at all and 2020 is rapidly approaching.”

WOULD NEVER DENY
APNU Member of Parliament, Jermaine Figueira, however rubbished these claims, contending that as a born and bred Lindener, he would never deny his people what is rightfully theirs.

“What is wrong with me requesting information that was promised to be provided several months ago? Wouldn’t it be insulting or moreover irresponsible for intelligent people to make a decision that will impact the lives of thousands of people, without information? The question therefore is why are those very important documents not being provided? Is there something afoot? Is there something the holder of those documents wants to remain secret? What is the untold story? Don’t the people of our township/region deserve the right to know?” were some of the questions Figueira asked.

He added: “There is no obsession for power and titles as being touted; the only obsession is to have clarity of the unknown and bring a speedy closure to this exercise.”

The application for a television station was made after residents complained about the limited and bias content that they were subjected to.

The Government signed an agreement to grant the license on August 21, 2012 after a deadly protest which resulted in the death of three Lindeners.