The Guyana Media Proprietors Association is calling for a reversal of the allocation of radio licences, while the Guyana Press Association is disturbed that the distribution of the frequencies was weighed in favour of friends of the governing party.
And Alliance for Change Member of Parliament Cathy Hughes said government might have circumvented the Broadcast Act by distributing licences before the Act was signed into law.
In a terse statement issued yesterday, the Guyana Media Proprietors Association called for the “lawlessness” to end.
“The Guyana Media Proprietors Association is appalled by the revelations in the National Assembly on the recent allocation of radio licences. It is calling for a reversal of this lawlessness,” the statement said. “It flies in the face of freedom of expression. It will not be accepted. It would effectively limit objective voices. It smacks of deceit, duplicity, and downright discrimination. Effectively, then President Jagdeo breached the agreement between himself and Desmond Hoyte in [2001].
“His refusal to grant licences to others, especially those with long-standing applications, was deliberately biased. We demand the right to free and independent voices.”
A statement by the Guyana Press Association said it was disturbing that the Government of Guyana was creating a media environment of monopoly ownership and control that leaves media workers limited options on employment and creative outlets for their skill and talent.
“The revelations by the Prime Minister in a written response to a Member of Parliament’s questions on the assignment of radio and television frequencies nationally have indicated too that the administration of the broadcasting and telecommunications sector appears to be haphazard at best,” the GPA statement said.
“The fact that the Prime Minister notes that the sector is in transition does not explain why for over two decades there has been no national plan to allow for investment in the sector by Guyanese and Caricom nationals,” the statement said.
“The Guyana Press Association is also concerned that at least one TV channel has been farmed out to essentially carry international content from a foreign power that clearly does not bring employment or other tangible benefits to the Guyanese media fraternity,” it said.
The GPA called on the government to correct the “obvious lapses” in the administration of the broadcast/telecommunications sector in the country. “The Guyana Press Association would like to see the elected representatives from both sides of the National Assembly engaged with other stakeholders in the process to redress the deficiencies in the sector.
“We encourage the involvement of Caribbean and Commonwealth media advisers in this task to ensure the equitable distribution of the resources of the electromagnetic spectrum that would redound to the benefit of all media workers and those involved in the creative industry,” the statement said.
Speaking with Stabroek News, Hughes, who had posed the questions to Prime Minister Sam Hinds in the first instance, said the Prime Minister’s answers fell short on some key points. She said that government passed the Broadcast Act in September 2011 and distributed the licences for radio and television before the Commencement Order for that Act came into effect one year later.
She noted that the licences were distributed outside the realm of the Broadcast Act. “Why was the Commencement Order [not brought into effect] immediately?” she asked, noting that this looked suspicious. “It is very suspicious that you sign an Act to govern the [distribution of] television and radio licences but instead of assenting right away you wait a whole year [during which time you hand out licences],” Hughes said. “Those licences would have been issued under the old regime,” she said.
“We have a problem with the government issuing to itself nine channels on NCN and five on the Learning Channel,” she said.
She noted that in addition to this, the government allocated to its friends channels with more reach potential. “The stations that were assigned channels previously were all given channels in one area. But friends of the government were all given channels with reach for the entire Guyana,” she said.
She noted too that with the current technology, one does not need link channels to relay signals, making the point that some persons and entities received link channels in addition to regular ones.
Hughes said the Prime Minister has said nothing about the people who previously applied to have their signals extended.
