The Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) has recommended a new fee structure which will see a steep cut in the rate for television broadcasters and it is looking at all available options to recover $121M in licensing fees from delinquent operators.
At its first press conference for the year at its High Street, Kingston office, board director Victor Insanally said that the Authority will be meeting with the defaulters individually.
Insanally, a longtime radio announcer who heads the board’s Finance Committee, said that the Authority is continuing to evaluate how it will deal with this matter, particularly since a huge amount is owed.
He said before November last year attempts were made to speak to the defaulters. “The reality I think is that …the market place does not allow so many players within this cramped area to be very competitive and to be able to pay a fee of $2.5M,” he said.
He added that during the individual meetings the Authority will have to be convinced of the reasons behind the inability to pay fees.
Insanally said the Authority does not feel it will be able to collect significant amounts of money and therefore will be recommending an amnesty as far as possible. He said that the extent of the amnesty still has to be decided as the Authority has to meet to decide whether it will be a full amnesty or a partial one. He said that the Authority realises that it needs to move on with the other procedures that have to be put in place. Insanally stressed that while the Authority is leaning towards an amnesty, it cannot be given without a proper investigation.
Board director and former television broadcaster Anthony Vieira said that this amnesty will not be applicable to radio. He said too that the fee for radio licences will not be changed as it is a much cheaper medium to operate. He said that the members of the Authority have agreed that the annual licence fee for television was too high and the fee could not be paid. He said that the Authority will meet with the TV broadcasters and discuss with them the total amount outstanding and based on the guidelines from the Office of the Prime Minister, a decision would be made.
He stressed that the Authority is prepared to listen to the stories and reduce the fees in line with the new rate but the owed monies will have to be paid within a certain time to bring the backlog up to date.
Insanally was unable to give an exact figure for the number of defaulters. He said that with the exception of three or four operators, the others are in default. He said that some have been paying “small amounts”.
Asked about the period of time for which these monies are outstanding, he said that some of the arrears date back as far as 2013.
Questioned on whether state TV NCN is up to date in its payments, reporters were told that the state-owned broadcasting company has been making some effort but has been paying for one out of three radio stations. Vieira said that it is quite up to date except that “they have three FM (radio) stations in Georgetown but they have only been paying for one. We are insisting that if they have three stations …they must pay for three stations, you can’t pay for one.”
He said that in general they are far more up to date than the other operators.
New fee structure
Meanwhile, GNBA Chairman Leonard Craig announced that a new fee structure for radio and television licences, based on a new zoning system, has been recommended.
Reading from a prepared statement he said that a new commercial zoning system is recommended—namely primary, secondary and tertiary zones, with a special category for community stations.
He said that for the Primary Zone (Region 4, Georgetown and environs), the new fee will be $1.2 million per annum; for the Secondary Zone (Berbice. Bartica & Essequibo), $600,000; Tertiary Zone (Linden, Lethem, Mabaruma) $300,000; and Community TV Stations $150,000.
With regards to radio licence fees, for the Primary Zone (Georgetown and environs), the recommended fee is $2.5M per annum as per the current rate; for the Secondary Zone (Berbice, Bartica & Essequibo), $1.25 million; and the Tertiary Zone (Linden), $625,000; and Community Radio Stations,
$312,500.
“All operators who desire their signals extended to more than one region will, on approval of the Authority, be allowed to extend to additional zones but will be required to pay the annual fee applicable to the additional zone/s,” Craig said. Using an example he said that a licence for a TV broadcaster covering 3 Zones- Georgetown, Berbice and Essequibo will incur an annual fee of $2.1M.
“These decisions emerged after careful consideration of the frequency allocations in existence in the industry for over 15 years”, he said, adding that members of the Licensing Committee also examined the marketplace, including the annual accounts of the state-owned broadcast entity NCN all of which clearly indicate that income for radio exceeds television and operational expenses are less.
As a result, he said the fees for television were also reduced in keeping with the ability of broadcasters to pay.
Craig stated that deliberations are still in progress with respect to fees for cable systems. The Board is in dialogue with the National Frequency Management Unit as it related to the allocation of frequencies, he said, while adding that the Board is of the opinion that an unfair advantage exists with respect to spectrum use, creating virtual monopolies for certain favoured individuals.
He noted that a complete review is recommended.
