At the request of the Education Ministry, Television Guyana (TVG) will continue to provide satellite uplink services for the Guyana Learning Channel (GLC) despite longstanding concerns that this contract was not necessary in the first place.
Education Minister Dr Rupert Roopnaraine told Stabroek News that the request until the end of February was made to allow for the National Communications Network (NCN) to work out their “issues”. He was referencing the discovery of equipment at NCN in October that was said to be capable of performing the same service as TVG was providing at a substantial cost.
Roopnaraine told Stabroek News that if NCN at that point in time is still unable to provide the services necessary to share the GLC across the country, then the ministry will have to once again contract out the work.
He said of the contract “We just extended it and we are hoping that NCN is in a position where they can do what needs to be done.”
NCN remains mum on the investigation into the equipment that was found in a storeroom. It has made no public declaration as to whether the equipment that was found is functional and capable of providing the uplink service.
While acknowledging that he was not made privy as yet to the state of the equipment on hand, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo revealed that an allocation had been made to fast track the necessary components.
The PM noted that additional equipment like dishes would also need to be acquired. This lends credence to the view that the equipment found was not capable of doing the task without further additions.
The Prime Minister had lashed out at the former PPP/C administration, alleging that there was collusion to allow the Ramroop Group-owned TVG to be awarded the contract.
A five-year contract worth $185M was signed between the government and TVG in 2010 to provide a satellite uplink facility for the Learning Channel. Currently, the government is paying TVG $3.6 million per month in a bundled package for services inclusive of the uplinking cost to the NSS-806 satellite.
In May 2013, GLC Head Dr Seeta Shah-Roath told Stabroek News that NCN had dismissed the uplinking of the GLC as “not a viable project, both technically and financially,” which resulted in no public tender for the service.
She had told this newspaper that when she had first approached NCN on the issue of providing satellite services for the GLC, top persons there had told her that it would be “first world technology being put into a third world scenario”. She said that in a meeting with NCN she was told that it was only possible to downlink and use terrestrial-based broadcasting which was in line with technology being used by NCN. Subsequently a deal was struck with TVG which had the uplinking capabilities.
Nagamootoo said that he was made aware that the NCN board had met mid last week and that they were having ongoing discussions about the capabilities of the equipment that was discovered and the staffing requirements necessary to ensure that the uplink technology is properly utilised.
Nagamootoo said that the education ministry had requested that he, also the Minister of Information, give an assurance that NCN would be capable of providing the service in a timely fashion.
Chairman of the NCN Board, Bish Panday had told Stabroek News last month that the ongoing investigation into whether the equipment could have been used for uplinking was an NCN matter.
When pressed to explain since there is public concern over the lack of information on the investigation, he stated that “you can have your concerns, the affairs will be dealt with by NCN.”
Panday added “I can’t be discussing NCN affairs with the newspapers.”
The Chairman had previously told Stabroek News that the state entity’s lack of technical expertise had delayed a determination on the capabilities of uplink equipment found on its premises. While adding that “NCN is a national organisation and the public has a right to know.”
Panday had told Stabroek News in an earlier interview that “NCN has a problem with technical people, you could call it wherewithal and I am still trying to get technical advice on the way forward. The equipment is there, I don’t have in house. NCN, I don’t believe they have the technical people to guide the way forward.”
In October, Nagamootoo had said about NCN: “You had this equipment lying there for a number of years now and (it) had not been activated”. The PM pointed out that since the equipment was purchased in 2013, it was not used but instead the former PPP/C government was utilising the services of TVG.
According to Nagamootoo, “we believe that either there has been collusion…or a massive recklessness in regard to assets purchased with the taxpayers money so the new board will have to inquire what really happened.”
