The bigger picture paints a million words

Nov 19, 2013 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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It was former President Bharrat Jagdeo who, last month at a Lusignan rally in celebration of twenty years of power, told the gathering that they must ignore the few potholes and few clogged drains in Guyana and look at the bigger picture. I thought of the big picture when I looked at the Kaieteur News front page on Sunday
If you haven’t seen it, I suggest that you do. It takes the form of a diagram which outlines an interconnection of power and finance that is extremely frightening. It portrays a story of a tragic nation that sinks deeper and deeper into an authoritarian chasm from which one day it will never be able to climb out of.
The diagram depicts the eventual shape of the media landscape in the coming months, given the shape of the share out of licences for radio, television, cable, internet and wireless services. The interconnection with its incestuous base is so dangerous that if the opposition and civil society accept this, then it is pointless for the opposition to protest any other governmental wrongdoing in this country.
Just before he demitted office, Mr. Jagdeo awarded five radio licenses to Telcor of Queenstown, a company in which Robert Persaud’s family members, one of whom is Jagdeo’s niece, are the major players. Five radio frequencies were granted to a company owned by Dr. Bobby Ramroop.
It would be recalled that when he was President, Mr. Jagdeo said that he left a Cabinet meeting when a concession was being awarded to Dr. Ramroop because he is a friend of Ramroop and felt that he should not be part of Cabinet decision on Ramroop. It can be concluded, then, by the analyst that the President gave the permit to a very close friend.
In what must be unprecedented in regional and South American politics, the president of a country gave his own party a licence for five radio frequencies while two independent media houses were denied their request.
At the same time, Mr. Jagdeo also allowed television and telecommunications licences to two companies. This cements the politics of incestuousness as practised by Mr. Jagdeo and which continues under Mr. Ramotar. The recipient, Quark Communication Inc, has Mr. Winston Brassington, Mr. Brian Young and a niece of Mr. Jagdeo in its hierarchy.
The other company is E-Networks which has at the top of its apex, Mr. Vishok Persaud, the son of deceased PPP stalwart, Reepu Daman Persaud.
According to this newspaper, included in E-Networks leadership is insurance boss, Keith Evelyn and Rakesh Puri, heir of Continental Agencies.
A citizen in the know informed me that E-Networks at the moment is putting cables on GPL poles so it becomes easy for a customer of E-Networks to be hooked up. He said that he saw E-Networks employees putting up the cables on poles in Subyranville where he lives. This writer is to make an inquiry to GPL. Has GPL rented out that facility to E-Networks as it does for GT&T?
It must be mentioned as a matter of emphasis that permits were denied to Enrico Woolford and the two independent daily newspapers.
When all this information is put together it makes for a tragic picture. This picture was painted on the front page and page 15 in last Sunday edition of this newspaper. What are the implications of this political/electronic incestuousness? It means that the PPP and its supporting cabals in the telecommunication industry will soon have a monopoly in the field of communication. It is a macabre deepening of dictatorship that the opposition as a matter of urgency must confront.
Technically speaking, all those recipients listed above have far greater magnitude of geographical coverage than any of the followings private television channels – 6, 7, 9, 11, 13. At present only NCN and channel 28, owned by Dr. Ramrooop reach the entire geography of Guyana.
It means, therefore, that this incestuous share-out can reach every part of Guyana. It can saturate Guyana with its fiction and deceptions.
In relation to the cable business of Telcor, Quark Inc and E-Networks, these companies can offer services that GT&T cannot provide. Brian Yong’s outfit goes beyond GT&T internet service. If GT&T cables are downed, Brian Yong can offer such service via satellite. There is tremendous threat for free flow of information given what this incestuous rampart of Mr. Jagdeo contains.
One would like to believe that the opposition has not studied the shape of this incestuous communication Leviathan. They need to as soon as possible. In any national election, these interconnections of Mr. Jagdeo’s communication mountain will be on full display. The implications are too frightening to contemplate.

 

 

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