Opposition set to vote against $211M budgeted for NCN, GINA

Apr 17, 2012 News

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…says monies could subsidise Linden’s electricity

Opposition Parliamentary parties have signaled intentions to vote down some $200M that

Government has allocated for the Government Information Agency (GINA) and the National Communications Network (NCN) in this year’s National Budget.
It will more likely feature as one of the major items for disagreements in the new dispensation in which the government does not have the voting majority in the National Assembly.
The news came even as the Opposition Leader, Brigadier General (rtd) David Granger, complained to Speaker of the House, Raphael Trotman, of the coverage provided especially by GINA on the ongoing Parliamentary debate of the 2012 National Budget.
According to the Speaker yesterday, he has since asked GINA’s Director, Neaz Subhan, to reply to the written complaint of Granger.
Granger’s party, A Partnership For National Unity (APNU), has reportedly

prepared a dossier of several instances where GINA allegedly did not include APNU’s presentations in the state-controlled reports of the proceedings.
Yesterday, Parliamentary opposition members of APNU and the Alliance For Change (AFC), who asked not to be named, disclosed that they do not intend to vote for provisions which include subsidies and provisions.
Unfair coverage by both NCN and GINA is nothing new with the issue raising its head in the lead-up and during last year’s General and Regional Elections. There have also been numerous complaints by local, independent station owners over what they said was unfair competition from NCN which manages the country’s only authorized radio stations.
Even the independent watchdog, Electoral Assistance Bureau, has slammed the amount of airtime and coverage by the two agencies given to opposition parties.
Last week, AFC’s Parliamentarian, Catherine Hughes, during her debate presentation also slammed the

operations of the two, saying they represented a misuse of taxpayers’ dollars.
Not needed
According to Hughes, it is clear that NCN does not fulfill the mandate of a public service or national broadcaster and therefore should not be receiving together with GINA, a total of more than $211M as outlined in the budget estimates.
Last year, GINA, described by Hughes as the “propaganda machinery”, received $111M. This year, that figure has moved to $130M.
“Surely, Mr. Speaker, this expensive propaganda cannot be considered as critical to the development of a better Guyana,” Hughes said in her criticisms.
In addition to GINA, NCN in the estimates which received $70M last year has now been allocated $81M.
“It is a well-known fact that NCN has deliberately refused access to this nationally-owned station to several large sections of the population in direct contravention to the provisions clearly outlined in our constitution.
Political parties such as the AFC, the PNC and most recently APNU, have been consistently excluded, not even allowed a right to

reply…a foundation of any democracy.”
Hughes stressed that AFC is not prepared to go to another election where the NCN “dictates that the opposition will only get five minutes air time, but gives the PPP blanket coverage with equipment that was paid for by all Guyanese including the taxes from the majority of Guyanese that voted for the political opposition in this House.”
The AFC official noted that NCN’s monopoly exerts to Linden across the television and radio airwaves unabated and is breach of a decision of Guyana’s courts which instructed that the situation in there is a breach of the constitutional rights of Lindeners.
“The failure to issue licenses in a fair and objective manner, the refusal to allow existing TV stations to expand their signal, the recent subjective allocation of a few radio licenses to members of the PPP’s family and friends’ network, is nothing short of a dictatorship which the PPP is so prone to crying down.”
Hughes also said she has received a letter from the Chief Executive Officer of NCN who said that the agency is registered as a company incorporated under the Companies Act of 1991 and which receives over 90 per cent of its income from advertising.
Not allowing
“This is a wonderful feat for NCN and given this information it is clear that NCN and the Guyana Information Agency do not need over $200M from the limited national coffers. It is, after all, a successful company that clearly can compete effectively with the private sector, although this is not allowed in several countries.
“Surely this honourable House cannot authorize the use of hard earned taxpayers’ money in such a manner.”
Hughes said that the fact that NCN has made no attempt to change its modus operandi over the years and that fact that the best of international election and media monitoring experts have noted this unacceptable situation, election after election, and yet unfortunately nothing has changed, it is now clear that only the National Assembly can and must make that change.
“Let the agencies that NCN and GINA serve fund their activities if they refuse to serve the interest of all in this nation.
“The people are tired of the NCN diet and more so, the people of Linden. Now to add to their insult, this government is saying that it cannot subsidise electricity costs for Linden.”
The AFC Parliamentarian suggested that the NCN budgeted $81M be taken away and used to subsidise electricity for Linden.
“I am showing the government how taxpayers’ money can be better utilised in the best interest of the people of Guyana. If the people can’t afford to pay for electricity they can’t watch NCN anyhow.
“Again, we are not proposing any new money, just better use of existing funds. Or use the money set aside for NCN and GINA and open a meat processing plant at Linden where young people can get jobs and farmers at Kwakwani will be encouraged to get back into cattle farming knowing that there is a market available.”

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