Court blocks Jagdeo radio licencee Telecor from setting up

Mar 21, 2013 News

Chief Justice (ag) Ian Chang has issued an order blocking one of the controversial new radio licencees, Telecor and Cultural Broadcasting, from setting up its broadcasting tower and offices.

The Telecor site left abandoned

The company was one of three given five radio frequencies each by former President Bharrat Jagdeo. The others who were given five radio frequencies each were Jagdeo’s best friend Dr Ranjisinghi Ramroop and the Mirror newspaper, owned by the ruling People’s Progressive Party.
Telecor was moving to build its offices and set up its broadcasting tower on the south half of 119 Peter Rose and Laluni Streets, Queenstown Georgetown.
The Chief Justice made absolute an order quashing the approval given by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) for Telecor to construct its facilities on the said property.
Telecor is registered by its Secretary, Omkar Lochan, who is the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment headed by Robert Persaud, who already has connections to a television station.
Telecor was blocked from setting up after residents of the area complained.
For years, there have been by-laws specific to Queenstown, east of Oronoque Street. Those by-laws state that no building to be used for any manufacturing, trade or business purpose shall be erected or built on any lot and no such building shall be used for any purpose aforesaid.
The neighbour, Attorney Melinda Janki, indicated in very forceful language in a letter to the Company’s Secretary that the construction site is an eyesore, is hazardous to health and the environment and is reducing the value of the area. She complained of mosquitoes, blocked drains and the parapet.

Omkar Lochan, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment headed by Robert Persaud

The President’s Press and Publicity Officer in Office of the President, Kwame McCoy, was among those who approved the issue of new radio licences. Those who evaluated the applicants, apart from McCoy, were Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon; Network Administration at the Office of the President, Roy Jagnandan; and Head of the Project Cycle Management Division of the Ministry of Finance, Tarchand Balgobin.
The Prime Minister had said that no formal scoring system was used to determine who will get a licence, but that the applications were considered on their merits.
He had said that among the criteria used for evaluating the applications were experience and capability in the broadcasting and communication fields, “fit and proper” (background security checks and current and previous business ventures) and “spectrum considerations.”
Just before he left office, Former President Bharrat Jagdeo distributed the airwaves to his friends, those close to the government and a few others, it was revealed in the National Assembly last week.
The Prime Minister revealed that four TV channels are available to Dr Ranjisinghi Ramroop, the man Jagdeo publicly declared to be his best friend.
Apart from those who were granted five radio frequencies, Jagdeo gave one radio frequency each to other persons. These are NTN Radio, Wireless Connections, Hits and Jams Entertainment, Rudy Grant, Alfro Alphonso and Sons Enterprise, Haslyn Graham, and Little Rock Television Station.