At press time this morning the National Assembly was involved in fierce debate on the Broadcast (Amend-ment) Bill 2017 with PM Moses Nagamootoo defending a controversial provision for all broadcasters to carry one hour of public service programmes each day.
Nagamootoo in introducing the bill declared to the House that it does not infringe on press freedoms but rather lends clarity and certainty to the wide and sweeping powers granted the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) by the 2011 Broadcast Act. A number of MPs were scheduled to speak this morning and another session of Parliament has been convened for this afternoon to ensure that the debate is brought to conclusion.
Referring to the 2011 Act as the Jagdeo Act, Nagamootoo argued that it not only granted wide and sweeping powers to GNBA to amend conditions for the issuing, suspension and revocation of licences but that it also granted powers to demand uncapped amounts of time for Public Service Broadcasts.