– no meeting in one year by LTV board

It has been a little over one year since the Board of Directors of the Linden Television Station has held its last meeting, which ended abruptly after four directors walked out. Since then, the board has been at a stalemate since no engagement whatsoever has been held among the board members. This has been described as worrying by some board members, who in an invited comment said that some members are holding the board hostage while the residents of Linden are suffering the consequences.

Expressing his frustration on the matter was Member of Parliament Audwin Rutherford, who said that he had planned to engage Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo on the matter as soon as he returns to the country. “For me it is not fair to the people of Linden, the process must move forward, this is a matter of total power control and persons need to put the interest of the people ahead of their issues,” Rutherford said. The MP asserted that the board is divided by two factions while there are a few members in between the two factions, and this is what is stalling the process. He added that he is not even sure if the current board still has life or whether it has been expired.

Pastor Morris McKinnon also expressed his disappointment over the way things have been handled, and even questioned whether he still has interest in pursuing being a director given the fact that it has been dormant for so long. “Everything is just laid back, everything is just laid on the table, nothing has been going on, things just went into a stalemate,” McKinnon said. Board member Leslie Gonsalves who did not want to comment further without advice from incumbent secretary Sharma Solomon, said however, that the people of Linden are agitated about the lack of progress regarding the television station. Efforts to reach Solomon for a comment proved futile.

Residents of Linden are calling on Prime Minister Nagamootoo who has responsibility for public communication and who mandated the extension of the board, to look into the way things are going since there may be need for necessary adjustments.
Meanwhile, Lindeners continue to bemoan the limited channels received by the National Communications Network (NCN) which provides a weekly news broadcast. “It is about time now, this board story going on for so long that two people from the board done dead and nothing in happening, like this whole generation got to dead out before something happen, please, please, we are pleading with the powers that be to do something for Linden, don’t let the next election come and we still waiting,” one pharmacist commented.

With the passing of the late Sandra Adams, the board now has 14 members. These include Mr. Phillip Bynoe; Mayor Carwyn Holland and his deputy, Ms. Waneka Arrindale; Regional MP’s Messrs. Jermaine Figueira, Audwin Rutherford, Leslie Gonsalves and Ms. Merna Adrian and Ms. Vanessa Kissoon. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo had told residents of Linden that the the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) stands ready to issue the licence for the operationalisation of the Linden Television Station and that Channel 13 has already been secured for Linden. At the last convened meeting of the board, in March of 2017, four members walked out after the majority voted in favour for the elections for secretary and chairman to be done by secret ballot.

The application for a television station was made after residents complained about the limited and biassed content that they were subjected to from NCN under the PPP Government.The then administration had signed an agreement to grant the licence on August 21, 2012 after a deadly protest which resulted in the death of three Lindeners.