THE National Communication Network (NCN) and Hits and Jams (HJ) have refuted a Kaieteur News report which stated that 98.1 and 94.1 Boom FM were among stations to be taken off air very soon.

In separate statements, both companies declared that they were financially compliant with the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) since all their fees were paid.
According to the Board of Directors of NCN, they are up-to-date on all 2017 fees that were owed to the GNBA for their three radio stations.

Similarly, the management of HJ said they have already settled outstanding fees for 2017 and are not listed among stations to be taken off air.

Both entities have criticised the move by Kaieteur News to publish false information about their financial standing without seeking a comment or clarity from them. Both companies are calling on Kaieteur News to retract the story and issue a public apology to them.
According to the Kaieteur News report, GNBA Chairman Leslie Sobers said only Blackman and Sons, Brutal Group Inc, CNS Sharma, Two Brothers Corporation, Multi-Cultural Communication, Kaieteur Radio, I-Radio, Pinnacle Radio, Freedom Radio, Radio Guyana Inc, Little Rock Radio and NTN Radio are deemed legal broadcasters.

The report went on to quote the GNBA chairman as saying, “radio stations that continue to operate while owing are doing so illegally, and in the very near future they will make moves to take them off air”.

Sobers had also indicated that he will not be backpedalling on the sub-committee’s decision to take serious action against those owing millions of dollars in backed-up fees.
Efforts to contact the GNBA chairman for a comment proved futile.