Who says that Jagdeo cared about all the people?

Mar 17, 2013 Features / Columnists, My Column

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Radio is perhaps the most convenient of the means of communication. Since its somewhat accidental discovery it has taken the world by storm. Drivers find it a convenient companion as they travel, people in remote lands keep abreast of developments in every corner of the world through radio and most of all it allows for the easy dissemination of information.
Not so long ago people in Guyana kept abreast with the rest of the world through radio. Many were the nights when neighbours gathered around the single radio around for such simple delights of soap operas, and the pop tunes. The information that most people wanted were the announcements of deaths and the messages.
The sports fanatics followed every detail, be it boxing or cricket. The people at the other end had a command of language. They had to be very good to transmit the images they were seeing through the use of words. Radio made for the development of people.
I shall not attempt to examine the other uses because for many today, they are ancient.
It is true that radio is not as pervasive as it once was. The telephone, particularly the cellular phone which has become smarter to the point that it is a radio, a telephone and an encyclopedia all in one, has taken the pride of place. Of course the phone is much more, not to speak about its role as link for social gatherings.
But radio is still the easiest of the mass communication systems. Because of its capability to transmit messages over long distances to a multitude of people at the same time it became a worthwhile tool for politicians and entertainers alike.
Guyana had many radios. There were the so-called ham radios which allowed private operators to listen to chats and other information from around the world. The first news out of Grenada after Hurricane Hugo came via ham radio. But I am getting ahead of what I really want to look at. Guyanese get almost all of their ready news from radio.
In other countries people are informed of traffic jams, weather conditions, and the news by radio as they drive. When planes went into the World Trade Centre, radio gave those on the road immediate information and probably saved more lives because those who would have been in the vicinity a few minutes later, diverted.
In Guyana, people are provided with what passes for news on television and most get these pieces of information at nights, hours after the event would have happened. The state radio, because of its misconceived role, provides tidbits on what the government wants to be known on the hour. But they cannot compete with the private media.
It took decades, but the government has come to recognize that its state-controlled media facilities are no match for the private media who, though few, do make an impact on the people of the country. It is widely believed that the private media had so significant impact on the nation that they influenced the final outcome that saw the government, for the first time, having a parliamentary minority.
During his tenure as President, Bharrat Jagdeo recognized that he had an uphill task to maintain his grip on information. Many believe that he was emulating Forbes Burnham who had an ubiquitous presence in the country by way of the only daily newspaper and the only radio station. The nation, for the most part heard what he wanted them to hear.
Desmond Hoyte opened up the media and before he died there were many private newspapers and television stations. More voices were heard with different messages. However, the most pervasive of them, radio, remained in Government hands.
Jagdeo had a television station controlled by Robert Persaud, three others by sympathisers of his party, but he still had to wonder at the power of the private media. The result is that he got a newspaper going, but that is still to get off the ground.
Before he demitted office he decided to liberalise radio. This decision was hailed until Jagdeo kept his promise. He picked his friends, and close associates to own these new channels. Again he wanted to ensure that his message and that of his party reach everyone at the same time. The private media would have to catch up some twelve hours later and Jagdeo, being a clever man, knew the advantage of time.
It did not matter that there were numerous pending applications by people who seriously wanted radio to give people something other than government propaganda. Jagdeo handpicked those who would get radio.
The insult to those who had applied more than a decade ago was that Jagdeo’s best friend, Dr Ranjisinghi Ramroop, got five channels. Jagdeo’s party got five more and Robert Persaud got five. What does this tell us? Jagdeo wants to control the airwaves and he calls this acting in the best interest of the people.
Chandra Narine Sharma who was moved to a television channel that automatically accommodated a radio frequency was actually told that he could not advertise his radio. Anthony Vieira, who was sick of the sole state radio station, opted to start his broadcast. The result was that the government swooped down on him and seized his radio.
Vieira moved to the courts and found that he had a right to broadcast. That is a landmark decision and I am surprised that no other individual has opted to capitalize on that court ruling. Had they done so this mass allocation of radio stations to friends and family would not have occurred.
There is the contention that the National Frequency Management Unit, which is responsible for allocating the spectrum, would have deemed squatting illegal, and would have moved against the radio. But Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon actually told the nation that the NFMU is a rubber stamp. He said that it can never tell the government not to or to refuse any move by the government.
Desmond Hoyte knew about the power of radio and he got Jagdeo to agree that nothing would be done until there was a Broadcasting Authority. Jagdeo turned his back on that promise to satisfy his penchant for nepotism.

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