The Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) yesterday issued new licences for a television station in Linden and a radio station in Georgetown in the name of journalist Denis Chabrol.
The Linden TV station is JREM Guyana Inc, while Chabrol, who is the owner of the online news site Demerara Waves, has been issued a licence for News Talk Radio Guyana Inc.
Handing over the licences yesterday at a ‘Broadcasters Engagement’ at the Herdmanston Lodge, Queenstown, Georgetown, GNBA Chairman Leslie Sobers said that JREM has qualified to receive a licence for a secondary zone and News Talk Radio for the primary zone, Georgetown.
“We want to encourage persons in the other zones to apply for frequencies because we do have. I am advised by the NFMU [National Frequency Management Unit] that frequencies are available for the secondary and tertiary zones. The primary zone is full already,” he explained.
Sobers said people are fighting to get the primary zone because of the larger population, while not realising that they can operate in the secondary zone on the border of the primary zone.
Licences were also handed out to six television stations and five radio stations that are fully compliant with the GNBA’s regulations. They are: CNS Inc Channel 6, Blackman and Sons Inc, MTV Inc, NCN Inc, Television Guyana Inc, GWTV 2, Radio Hits and Jams Entertainment, Little Rock Radio, NTN Radio and NCN Radio and Pinnacle Communications Inc.
Meanwhile, offering an overview of the GNBA’s performance, Sobers said that its board, which was appointed in February, 2017 and whose term ends in February, 2019, was given the mandate to regularise the broadcasting sector and it believes it has done so with a fair degree of success.
The focus was on licensing, a fee structure, monitoring and compliance, he said.
“The board also focused attention on revenue collection and prudent spending, strengthening human resource capacities and providing accessible information on our website through the public relations committee.” The public relations committee will be given additional responsibility to include public communications, public education and the implementation of an information centre, he said.
In the quest to develop the broadcast sector and level the playing field among broadcasters, Sobers said, the board advised the subject minister on necessary amendments to the Broadcasting Act to correct anomalies and to provide for more equitable access to the broadcasting market.
Compliance continues to be a focal point of the GNBA, he said.
“We work assiduously, admonishing broadcasters to honour their obligations, and we also reach out to them by visiting their premises and holding consultations to understand the constraints facing them.”
In understanding the constraints, Sobers said, the GNBA has put in place measures to allow broadcasters to honour their financial obligations and reduce their indebtedness to the authority without jeopardizing their viability.
“Sad to say there are still some who hold the view that they should not have to pay the licence fees in a timely manner or at all in some instances. It cannot be denied that this authority has been patient with defaulting broadcasters,” he said.
GNBA intends to use persuasive measures to encourage full compliance and debt recovery before embarking on legal action, he said.
Marketing tool
Other achievements Sobers listed included giving effect to the idea of zoning, the issuance of licences to new broadcasters, publishing guidelines on the GNBA website, developing an accessible user-friendly website, consulting with broadcasters, which will be ongoing, outreach visits to new broadcasters to understand their constraints and progress, and networking with international agencies, such as the Caribbean Broadcasting Union, UNESCO and the International Telecommunications Union.
The GNBA, he said, is fully audited up to 2017 and by next week all reports from the time the Broadcasting Act was implemented to the end of 2017 will be presented to the subject minister.
The GNBA, also intends to recognise broadcasters who are fully compliant and to permit them the use of their status with the authority as a marketing tool. Permission for growth and expansion of market share will only be accorded to such broadcasters if they are fully compliant, he said. “One could not reasonably expect to be allowed to expand when one is in default,” he added.
The GNBA will hold more consultations, organise seminars for broadcasters and create an information centre for broadcasters’ use, he said.
“We intend to improve our monitoring with improved equipment, encourage the production of local content and develop a revolving fund to assist with the development of local content and to introduce an award system for broadcasters,” he added.
