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Very little space left for more TV, radio station in the city- Broadcasting Authority
– sloth in processing new applications
Applicants for new television licences may find that there are not many left for allocation in the city.
GNBA Chairperson,
Bibi Shadick
That is because there are few frequencies left available. And it may be the same for radio stations as well.
Speaking with Kaieteur News on Friday, Chairperson of the Guyana National Broadcasting, Bibi Shadick, said the body is currently dealing with regularization of current broadcasters to adhere to the law. No new applications from the Georgetown area are being considered. Rather, applications from religious organizations and from outlying areas, like from Region One, are being assessed.
The issue of radio, television and cable licences have been a sore one following revelations that several entities and individuals were green-lighted by former President Bharrat Jagdeo, shortly before he stepped down from office in November 2011.
Most of the approvals by Jagdeo, acting in his capacity as the Minister of Information, went to close friends and associates of the ruling party.
Several prominent media houses, seen as being critics, were overlooked by Jagdeo. These included Kaieteur News, Stabroek News, Capitol News, HBTV Channel Nine and CNS Channel Six.
There had been calls for the approvals to be scrapped and despite days of protests, the Donald Ramotar administration refused to budge.
The Board of GNBA which was established just over two years ago made it clear it can only respond to existing operators and asked that fresh applications be submitted, even from those who had applied before.
There have not been any significant movements in the granting of the licences for the new applications that GNBA has received.
According to Shadick, GNBA’s offices at the National Frequency and Monitoring Unit (NFMU), Hadfield Street, is set for renovation with the authority busy with moving.
The Board of Directors of the authority, which considers applications, has not met for two months. It is the hope that a meeting could be held next month, she said.
But it is unlikely that new applications would even be considered then as a recent court decision over the implantation of new broadcasting fees and spectrum fees will be engaging the attention of the Board.
Former President, Bharrat Jagdeo.
There are four applications for broadcasting licences by religious organizations being considered at the moment with no timeline set when the approvals for news ones will be done.
According to Shadick, until Guyana introduces digital frequencies, as the rest of the world is doing, the availability of the airwaves, which operators use to broadcast, will remain very limited under the old analog system. The digital frequencies, which require modern equipment and significant investments, allow for the availability of multiple frequencies.
The issue of broadcasting licences has been a thorny one on the side of Government. In the early 2000s the Administration and the Opposition, under Desmond Hoyte, had agreed for no new TV and radio licences to be issued until new regulations have been passed and an authority established to oversee the process of licensing.
However, in late 2011, days before he stepped down from power, Jagdeo broke the agreement and distributed 11 radio licences to mainly friends and close party members.
There were several protests after it was discovered that some of the radio licences went to the New Guyana Company which publishes the ruling party’s newspaper; to Dr. Ranjisinghi Ramroop, a close friend of Jagdeo; to Telcor, a company owned by the overseas-based sister of Minister Robert Persaud; and to Wireless Connections, a company facing financial problems.
Earlier last year, GNBA asked for current broadcasters to submit fresh applications as part of the regularization process for broadcasting.
Broadcasters, under new arrangements, have to pay at least $2.5M fee or three per cent of their gross revenues for the previous year. The new fees were challenged by a number of operators in October last year.
The Opposition has called for the scrapping of the licences.
Complaints were made to the international media bodies and even to a US Congresswoman with criticisms coming in about the approvals granted by Jagdeo.
There have also been complaints that the existing radio stations, in addition to current Government-owned ones at the National Communications Network (NCN), are heavily biased in favor of the Government.
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