–says Granger as Radio Bartica goes on air

AMID much pomp and ceremony, Radio Bartica 95.1FM was switched on by President David Granger and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo on Saturday in the presence of scores of residents from around the region, who converged at the Bartica Learning Centre to participate in the historic event.

Local and regional officials, ministers of government, government officials and officials from the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) were among those who also participated in the commissioning ceremony.
The multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art facility, which is housed in the Bartica Learning Centre, is providing local programming to more than 15, 000 residents of Bartica, in addition to those in outlying communities not only in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni District, but in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice) as well.

Harmonious voices of students of the Bartica Secondary School and Gavin Mendonca, one of Guyana’s leading musicians, were complemented by the sounds of steel pans playing at key intervals during the grand celebration.
Amid the celebration, President Granger called on programmers and broadcasters to operate in keeping with the principles of professionalism. Singling out two of those very important guidelines, he said broadcasters must adhere to the principles of responsibility and objectivity.

“There must be a sense of social responsibility on Radio Bartica, on Radio Mabaruma, on Radio Lethem and Radio Mahdia. Once you are broadcasting to the public, you have to have a sense of social responsibility. We cannot tolerate irresponsibility, we cannot tolerate vulgarity,” the President emphasised.
In underscoring the importance of being objective, he made it clear that radio stations are not meant to be organs of propaganda.

“They must be accurate, and they must be truthful,” he said, while urging that in the dissemination of information, all sides must be carried.
President Granger said his administration has been placing significant emphasis on public information on the basis that it is key for development. In Guyana, he said, public information is based on four major principles: access, appeal, awareness and attentiveness to minorities.

“Everybody in Guyana must have access to public information,” he said, while emphasising that no Guyanese, despite their geographical location, must be out of touch with the development of the nation.
He said too that public information, in this case being disseminated on the radio, must appeal to every citizen, noting that outlets must be created for the promotion of the country’s culture, language, education and entertainment.

Public information must also raise awareness among the masses, President Granger said, while adding that the fourth principle speaks to attentiveness to minorities.
“Minorities are important members of any society and we have to be very, very conscious…. In everything that we do we have to think about minority, not only ethnic minority, but sometimes gender minority, sometimes minority of people who are challenged in one way or other, sometimes people who are in remote areas and do not have access to the media, we must hear all voices,” he urged.

BELL CRIER
Region Seven Regional Chairman Gordon Bradford, in delivering brief remarks, said the commissioning of Radio Bartica is truly a milestone achievement for the Cuyuni-Mazaruni district. Bradford recalled that in the earlier years of the town, residents depended on a “bell crier” to alert residents during the dissemination of public information.

Many years after, the regional chairman said he is pleased to be participating in the historic event which will now enable residents to disseminate and receive critical information in the areas of health, education, development and agriculture, among others. He said for sure, the regional administration and the Mayor and Town Council of Bartica will be capitalising on the station, even as he called on religious organisations, health institutions and other key stakeholders within the town to make full use of the radio station.

Coordinator of the Project, Dr. Rovin Deodat, explained that the regional radio station was established via a four-way partnership among the Office of the Prime Minister, the executing agency; National Communications Network (NCN); the Regional Democratic Council and GTT.

Alluding to GTT’s involvement, he explained that the radio station is utilising the telephone company’s transmission site. From the radio station, a wireless signal is sent to the transmission site located at GTT’s transmission site in Bartica.
The radio station is also equipped with a small dish that receives signals from the National Communications Network (NCN). In addition to local content, the station will be supported with content from NCN, including the news, some of which is transmitted via 98.1 and VOG.

Before the curtains came down on the commissioning ceremony, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA), Leslie Sobers, presented NCN Board Chairman Enrico Woolford with the licence for Radio Bartica. The Prime Minister’s Office also handed out 12 of 20 radio sets to the people of Region Seven. President Granger and Prime Minister Nagamootoo also unveiled the Radio Bartica Commissioning Plaque before appearing in the radio studio for live interaction with Michella Abraham Ali.

Fourth Vice-President and Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock; Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman; Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes; and Minister within the Ministry of Natural Resources were also among the first guests to have been heard on the radio station. Mayor of Bartica, Gifford Marshall, the Deputy Mayor Kamal Persaud and the regional chairman appeared on the first programme officially aired on Radio Bartica.