c Chairperson of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) Bibi Shadick says the Region 10 Regional Democratic Council (RDC) has not applied for a broadcasting licence, as is being claimed by Regional Chairman (RC) Sharma Solomon.
Solomon continues to insist that the application was made in an effort to get the region’s television station, which he says is nearly completed, operating. However, Shadick and Government Advisor Gail Teixeira have challenged the RC’s claims.
In a letter sent to the RDC earlier this year Teixeira states that information provided to her indicates that the application was never submitted. On Tuesday, in response to information provided by Solomon and published in the March 18th edition of the Stabroek News, Shadick released a statement via GINA, expressing similar sentiments.
“I wish to state that no such application has been made to the GNBA,” GINA quoted the chairman as saying. She recalled Solomon making similar claims prior to the publishing of the article, a detail that Teixeira also pointed out in her letter to the region, and added that Solomon had once claimed to have submitted the application to the Office of the President (OP).
“OP is not GNBA, and until it is sent to GNBA it cannot be considered,” Shadick explained through GINA.
Solomon though, says the region submitted the application and other relevant documentation to OP, Cabinet Secretary Roger Luncheon specifically, in keeping with the agreement struck between government and the region.
According to the agreement, the government and Region 10 agreed that “Region 10 will apply for a broadcasting license and the Government will facilitate the granting of that license in keeping with the law.” In her letter Teixeira pointed to the use of the words “in keeping with the law,” and proposed that the language dictates that the relevant agency, the GNBA, facilitate the process toward acquiring the license.
At any rate, Solomon said that the application was submitted on September 18th 2013 to Luncheon, who then promised to hand the documents over to Shadick.
He said that unless Shadick is suggesting that Luncheon misinformed the region, her statements are invalid.
