Dear Editor,
Long before the advent of television in Guyana, radio has been a close companion of the average Guyanese citizen. This medium has been used and abused by successive governments over many years. After forty-one years of independence Guyana has one radio station, this is nothing any Guyanese should be proud of. As a matter of fact, we all should be ashamed of ourselves for allowing a few people to hold on to the monopoly of radio. Our country has an abundance of radio talent, so much so that we have Guyanese working at many radio stations across the Caribbean, in North America and in the United Kingdom. Many of those people I’m sure would love to make a contribution to the development of radio in Guyana but the government is holding on to radio with an iron fist and will not free it up. No journalist with a clear conscience would want to be part of any medium that tells its staff what to say, what to write and when to say what. Because of the system that has governed our only radio station, many of our experienced and professional radio broadcasters have opted to leave our shores to work in a more democratic environment or simply pursue a different profession.
Today in Guyana the radio station is used to propagate government information, the news is suppressed and only a chosen few are allowed to give their viewpoint. Guyanese who share different points of view from the government are barred from expressing those views on this radio station, the government treats the radio as its private property. Even as the government continues to hold on to the monopoly of radio the programmes produced and offered to the people who still listen to radio leave much to be desired. Radio listeners are fed up with the poor quality of outside broadcasts on various events.
The time has come for people to demand an end to radio monopoly and the issuing of licences for people to operate independent radio stations. It is the right of every citizen to have their views heard and I believe that private radio stations would give the people an opportunity to have their voices heard. A pressure group must be formed to lead the way in the struggle.
Yours faithfully,
Clive Fredericks
