Dear Editor,
The official launch of CCTV by the administration on Friday (February 8, 2013) continues to raise more questions.
Some of those questions are:
What procedures were taken to license the operation of the China Central TV?
When was the licence applied for?
When was the licence granted?
Could documentation be provided to substantiate the process?
Who is the licensee and who is paying for the licence?
Was CCTV required to register as a local company and submit its financial plan to the NFMU or GNBA?
Was CCTV/NCN required to submit its technical specifications and other requirements before being identified for, allocated or licensed to broadcast on a frequency on Guyana’s limited public resource, the Radio Frequency Spectrum?
What kind of arrangement does China Central have with NCN for rental of space on the transmission tower, terrestrial space, or for electricity, etc?
Why is an entire frequency being allocated to a foreign power and does such an allocation set a precedent in Guyana’s international relations for any other foreign entity to demand the same, on terms no less favourable than those offered the Chinese, based on a Most Favoured Nation status?
I would not ask about local expansion by Guyanese TV operators like CNS, WRHM, or HBTV over the last two decades, the analogous situation in Linden with regard to Channel 13, or what frequencies are available in various parts of Guyana for Guyanese and other Caricom nationals to invest in both radio and television broadcasting.
It is my hope, since the Guyana Government has “no obligation” to respond to me, not vituperatively (as is its wont) but by way of information, that any other ‘elected representative’ of the people would raise these questions in a forum where there is an obligation to reply.
Let me make it clear: I am not opposed to any television station on cable or over the air for information, education or entertainment. My concerns are, inter alia, fairness, transparency, reciprocity and sovereignty.
Yours faithfully,
Enrico Woolford
