LESS than two weeks after presenting the letter of approval for the licence to operate the Linden Television Station (LTV), executives of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA), on Monday, visited the National Communications Network (NCN) Linden Branch, which is the facility earmarked to be used for the LTV.

The visiting team included Chairman of GNBA, Mr. Leslie Sobers; Board Member, Ms. Aretha Campbell, and Legal Adviser to the Minister of State, Mrs. Geeta Chandan-Edmond. They met with the executives of the Trust Company of the LTV which included Mayor of Linden, Ms. Waneka Arrindell; Region 10 Member of Parliament, Mr. Jermaine Figueira, and municipal councillor, Ms. Fern McKoy.

The visiting team was welcomed by NCN Linden Branch Manager, Reycia Nedd, who is the designated officer to manage LTV.

This type of outreach is a customary exercise that is conducted to ascertain the readiness of new broadcasters to effectively utilise the broadcasting licence issued by the authority, GNBA said in a release.

Nedd gave a detailed tour of the facility and a synopsis of the plans for its development, in an effort to make it more business-friendly and well equipped for broadcasting. “The GNBA is pleased with the plans outlined for the development of the broadcasting entity and looks forward to harmonious relations as we move forward,” the release noted.

This visit came one day after Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, visited the facility. He also did inspections and related that the official handing over will be done after the completion of the legal establishment of the Trust Company.

Upon receiving the letter, MP Figueira said he received it with a spirit of satisfaction, knowing that it is something the residents of Linden fought for with sweat and blood. “This fight lead to a promise by the David Granger Administration and now it has been delivered.

We are happy and most pleased that our collective fight as a community was not in vain and another promise of His Excellency has been fulfilled,” he posited. He reiterated that the entity is owned by the people of this community and it will be used to the benefit of the people. “No longer will we be left of out the loop due to not having access to information.

This is a ‘forward ever, backward never’ approach this government has made and will continue to do, not only for communities like Linden that were marginalised by the PPPC administration, but for all our Guyana.” The National Communications Network (NCN) has already identified the equipment to be used for the television station and the channel identified is 13.

Presently, Lindeners are benefiting from limited channels received by the National Communications Network (NCN) which provides a weekly news broadcast.

There are now three directors for the station which are Morian, Figueira and Mayor Arrindell. Initially, there were 14 directors on the board.

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 licence on August 21st 2012, after a deadly protest which resulted in the death of three Lindeners. The expiration date for licence is December 31st 2019.