Radio, cable licences court case … Brian Yong, NFMU head, Radio Guyana official to be cross-examined

Dec 05, 2013 News

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Manickchand pulls out as Telecor’s lawyer

It was drama in court yesterday as one defence lawyer pulled out of the radio and cable licences court case brought by the Media Proprietors Association.

Attorney-at-law Jaya Manickchand announced that she will no longer be representing Telecor and Cultural Broadcasting Inc.
Telecor is one of 11 approvals for radio licences controversially granted by former President Bharrat Jagdeo as one of his last acts before leaving office in 2011. Two cable television operations were also green-lighted by Jagdeo.
A challenge was filed in the High Court earlier this year by the Guyana Media Proprietors Association (GMPA) and the National Media and Publishing Company Limited, owner of Kaieteur News.
GMPA members had been sidelined for licences and they argued that Jagdeo’s decision was unfair and unjustifiable. It wanted the approvals and subsequent licences to be overturned and quashed.
Telecor, a company approved for five frequencies, has been linked to Natural Resources Minister, Robert Persaud. His overseas-based sister, Ruth Baljit, is named as the shareholder of the company. Initially, Omkar Lochan, an employee of the Natural Resources Ministry, was listed as the contact person. Manickchand happens to be the wife of Lochan and had been representing Telecor.
Yesterday also, attorney-at-law Roysdale Forde, representing the National Media and Publishing Company, signaled his intentions to cross-examine a number of persons including Brian Yong, Valmiki Singh and Roopnarine Ramcharitar, at the next court date on December 16.
Yong, a close associate of Jagdeo, is the principal of Quark Communications Inc. which was approved for cable television licence in 2011.

Singh is the head of the National Frequency and Management Unit, which manages the airwaves of Guyana. Ramcharitar is an official of Radio Guyana Inc., a company owned by Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, also a close friend of Jagdeo.
AG no-show
It was widely expected yesterday that Publisher of Kaieteur News, Glenn Lall, would have been cross-examined by Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, when the matter came up before Chief Justice (ag) Ian Chang. Lall had been told to stand by. However, attorney-at-law Ronald Burchsmith for some of the radio licencees, indicated that he had no instructions of that nature. Nandlall was not in court yesterday.
The case is generating a lot of interest because it involves a challenge of the media versus the state. It was filed against the Attorney General, the Minister of Broadcasting, National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU), Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) and the 13 recipients that were approved for licences by Jagdeo.
These recipients named in the court action include Radio Guyana Inc; Telcor and Cultural Broadcasting Inc.; NTN Radio – owner of Channel 69; New Guyana Company Limited-owner of The Mirror newspaper; Rudolph Grant; Wireless Connection; Hits and Jams Entertainment; Alfro Alphonso and Sons; Haslyn Graham and Little Rock Television Station. E-Networks Inc and Quark Communications Inc, approved for cable licences, were also named as the Respondents.
The court action filed by Forde said that the licences were issued under the old Postal and Telegraphy Act and were done in bad faith, are discriminatory and are not legal.

The media houses and Lall are contending that the licences breached their legitimate expectations and constitutional rights.
They pointed to an agreement dated May 5, 2003 between Jagdeo and former Opposition Leader, Robert Corbin, where it was agreed there would be a freeze on all new commercial frequencies for radio and television until a new Broadcasting Act came into effect.
Jagdeo’s exercise of his discretion to approve new radio, TV and cable operations was abused and unreasonable also.
Quash
The media houses asked for court orders to quash the licences.
Regarding the cable TV licences to E-Network and Quark, reportedly owned by Vishok Persaud and Brian Yong respectively, friends of the former President, the media houses also want these to be quashed on the same grounds.
Singh, head of the NFMU, is also being asked to produce a statement to the court of all available radio, television and cable frequencies in Guyana.
Lall and GMPA, in asking for the court to issue an order for TV and radio broadcast licences to be granted to them, also want a declaration that the frequency spectrum is a national resource.
They are also asking in excess of $1M for aggravated damages and an unspecified amount for exemplary damages.
In the affidavit supporting the constitutional challenge, Lall said that in December 2008 he applied to Prime Minister Sam Hinds to operate a cable TV network; a radio station and a TV station.

He sent copies to NFMU and on February 26, 2009, received an acknowledgment. The court documents also listed the case of C.N. Sharma who applied for a radio licence but was turned down.
Veteran journalist, Enrico Woolford, of Capitol News, has also filed similar court action.
There has been widespread condemnation from Guyanese and both local and international media associations on circumstances surrounding the granting of the licences by Jagdeo. The timing and the fact that he did not wait on the Broadcast Authority to do its work were also heavily criticised.

 

 

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