Newly-appointed Chairman of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) Board Leslie Sobers has put broadcasters on notice that they would have to honour their obligations under their licences or be taken off the air.
Speaking to Stabroek News on Wednesday, Sobers said the recouping of millions owed by broadcasters and regularisation of the airwaves are among the areas the new board would be focusing on.
“We have to get that up and running because there are a lot of operators who are utilising the airwaves and have not been paying the dues …owing the authority millions of dollars,” he noted, while making it clear that the board intends to tackle this and that operators should take heed and get themselves in order.
Though limited, Sobers said, the spectrum is reusable. “Because it is reusable it can be given to somebody else so if operators fail, refuse or neglect to honour obligations, we will have no other alternative but to take them off of the spectrum,” he warned.
While he could not say how much is owed or how many operators are in default, he said that the board plans to meet them. He assured that the operators who owe will be given “ample time” to sort themselves out. He also expressed hope that after reading his comments, those operators will “take heed and put themselves in order.
We are not going to condone any inordinate delay. There are expenses to be met and revenue needs to be of a consistent flow and people are using the national airwaves but (are) not honouring obligations to the nation and that will not be condoned,” he emphasised.
The new members of the board met for the first time on Wednesday and in addition to getting familiar with each other, they also discussed the way forward.
Sobers said everyone contributed to the discussion, while adding that he and all the board members share a common interest, which is regularising the airwaves.
He said that the board will work closely with the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) to ensure proper spectrum management.
Sobers also said that there are some other technical and sensitive issues that will be looked at in the near future.
Apart from Sobers, the board comprises businesswoman Scheherazade Ishoof Khan, veteran radio broadcaster Dr. Rovin Deodat, communication and media specialist Jocelyn Josiah, Manager of Windjammer International Aretha Campbell, attorney Joel Edmond and a representative from the parliamentary opposition. All of them, except for the opposition representative, were sworn in on Tuesday.
The life of the board is two years, beginning February 1st, 2017 and ending on January 31st, 2019.
