Those denied radio licences should file a class action lawsuit for being discriminated against

Dec 11, 2012 Letters

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Dear Editor,
I am convinced that Mr. Harry Gill, like so many other Guyanese at home and abroad, wants only the best for Guyana, and that was why I resonated with so many of his past letters denouncing the corrupt government cabal led by former President Bharrat Jagdeo. But then I was shocked at his abrupt volte face praising the PPP regime, even though nothing major about it has changed except the person occupying the presidency.
In his letter, “The onus is on President Ramotar to right this injustice and avoid tarnishing his reputation,” (KN, December 10), Mr. Gill basically appealed to the President to right the wrong committed by his predecessor regarding the manner in which he issued radio licences to applicants before demitting office last year, because the process that saw a friend of Mr. Jagdeo receive a radio licence was deeply flawed, if not discriminatory!
Not that discrimination ever seemed to bother Mr. Jagdeo, but it is the notion that the wrong has been exposed that is forcing Mr. Gill to now challenge President Ramotar to right the wrong.
How that can or will be done is not clear, but I recall when the Jagdeo regime was caught illegally granting tax concessions to Sanata Complex, owned by the same friend who owns the radio station in question, the regime turned to the PPP parliamentary majority to pass legislation to retroactively right that wrong.
Without a PPP parliamentary majority today, President Ramotar cannot ask Parliament to retroactively right the wrong Mr. Gill is asking for, the next best course is for Parliament to take the issue to court and demand an injunction restraining the owner of the new radio station from broadcasting, because the former President discriminated against and or denied other applicants by issuing statements, which he turned around and violated when he issued the radio licence to his friend, Dr. Bobby Ramroop.
According to Kaieteur News, “Jagdeo, Ramroop expand media empire,” (December 7),  ”Jagdeo, the then head of state, had informed the nation that no new television license would be issued until Broadcast Legislation was introduced and that no television license could be transferred. But Queens Atlantic had no such problem.  As soon as Channel 28 was bought from (Tony) Vieira, it began to transmit. Ramroop changed the name of the station to TVG, implying a transfer of a licence to him, contrary to presidential statements.”
“The radio station is no different,” KN news article continued. “Vieira operated a radio station, but Jagdeo refused to grant him a licence. When Vieira decided to broadcast, Valmiki Singh of the National Frequency Management Unit moved against Vieira and seized the equipment. Vieira moved to the courts and won, but the decision was never handed down until Queens Atlantic bought the television station. This purchase also provided the entity with a radio station.”
In another KN article, “Radio licences granted days before Jagdeo’s departure…Applicants deem Jagdeo’s action dishonest, partisan,” (December 9), Mr. Jagdeo reportedly announced during his last days in office that he was going to liberalize radio. Less than a week before he left office, he said 10 new licences were granted from 55 applications that had been on file. When questioned, Mr. Jagdeo said that he was keeping a promise he made and referred questions about the names of the 10 to Dr. Roger Luncheon.
Dr. Luncheon identified Mr. Jagdeo’s best friend, Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, Maxwell Thom who owned Wireless Connection, Rudy Grant, TelCorp, AlfroAlphonso in Region Two and Rockliffe Christie in New Amsterdam. He promised to release the other names later. He never did. Last week Dr. Ramroop’s station went on air, the first of the 10 to do so.
Given the context in which Dr. Ramroop acquired his radio station and even his radio licence when there was not supposed to be any transfers/acquisitions before broadcast legislation was passed, there is now a case to be made by all persons who sought to acquire or set up radio stations or obtain radio licences to file a class action lawsuit against the PPP government for openly denying them their rights and openly discriminating against them.
I can readily think of Messrs. Mortimer Yearwood and Norman Chapman, both of Linden, who applied for licence to operate a radio station in Linden and, after much delay in being granted said licence, went to court and won the right to obtain such a licence, but still never got it. All these people should include in their lawsuit a demand that the licence issued to Dr. Ramroop be suspended and let there be a re-submission of all applications on a level and transparent playing field.
To my compatriot, Mr. Gill, who wrote the following: “Donald Ramotar is fair and just, and a President of all Guyana. I am confident he had nothing to do with this decision. But the onus is now on him to right this frightening injustice, and avoid tarnishing the reputation he has spent his entire life building,” let me be brutally frank and say, when it comes to the government and country, President Ramotar is ill-suited for the task at hand.
He may be a nice guy and even stand above the fray of corruption, but after one year there is not a single thing of major substance that anyone can point to that could be construed as a Donald Ramotar brainchild in the area of social, economic or political development. He is yet to leave his first meaningful footprint in the sands of Guyana’s politics. Moreover, because he refuses to confront and correct the corrupt practices of the Jagdeo era, he automatically becomes a witting accomplice, even one year after being sworn in as President.
The only thing we can do now is pray he receives a divine epiphany and starts leading from the front; otherwise Guyanese have to bring pressure to bear on his head.
Emile Mervin

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