Linden residents suspect plot to hijack TV station

Jun 24, 2016 News

---

By Jacquey Bourne
While the representatives of the Mayor and Town Council and the Regional Democratic Council are

now satisfied with age-old decision made by the Prime Minister four months ago pertaining to the Linden Television Station; some councillors are not in agreement with the chosen representatives.
During a press briefing yesterday in the Mayor’s Parlour, Mayor Carwyn Holland, said he was specially invited by the Prime Minister to attend a meeting at the Ministry of the Presidency with regards to the Linden Television Station.
Holland claimed that a consensus was arrived at to increase the members of the Region Ten Broadcasting Inc Trust. “Instead of an individual being on the trust, there will be entities represented.
“I am not authorized to speak on behalf of the Trust but on behalf of the Council. We moved from four to 15 members which includes two MPs from Linden, two members from the Mayor and Town Council, three from the Regional Democratic Council, one from the Linden Chamber of Commerce, one from the NDC, one from the Union and one representative from the Religious body, and in fact that one is being looked at carefully, because it would increase after the 15 would have met.”
Holland said that in his capacity as Mayor he is automatically on the Trust. “The Prime Minister picked who were in the room including me, but not everybody, because you had to represent an organization. I stood up and argued my way to have a second rep from the M&TC, and I selected my Deputy Mayor being the next in command of the Municipality.”
According to Holland, the new Chairman of the Trust is the Regional Chairman. “It was established that the authority of the TV station will first stand with the region, that the people of Linden will have a true representation, and the second in command will be the Mayor and Town Council, because we represent the township as is seen from the numbers we have on the Trust.”
He commended Sharma Solomon for leading the fight for the TV station. He also said, “I am happy that the Trust does not give any one person authority over the TV station.”
Secretary of the Region Ten Broadcasting Inc., Sharma Solomon, said that no Chairman was elected or selected. “When the members of the Trust meet, a chairman will be elected.”
Councillor Lennox Gasper is peeved over the choice of representatives claiming the Mayor did not hold a meeting with the councillors for a decision to be made.
“Now the Mayor is saying it is there that he lobbied for the Deputy Mayor to be on that committee, when I was privy to information that her name was there. She said she would get back to the council. I therefore felt that it is incumbent that the Mayor reach with the council and say to the council that this is the situation; he had ample time to make a decision on this.”
Gasper said he is with the council; he was also a part of the information committee under the administration headed by Solomon, with regards to the television station issue. He said that he is surprised he is sidelined.
“Myself and Devin Sears are also on the Communication Committee on this council and we are not considered. We understand right now that the Mayor has his hands full, but I feel there is a deliberate move to hijack this station for personal agenda.
“We need to put the people’s interest forward and I dare ask or petition that they follow a democratic approach. This one is not democratic.”
He also expressed his dissatisfaction that the council is being left out under the guise that the Mayor is the council, in the absence of the council.
“But again it is how you interpret the law. If every minute you go and make decisions and you don’t consult that is a problem. I knew that was going to be a sensitive issue, so I asked him if it will be discussed.
“He said ‘yes’ so I told him let us have a consensus on what we are going to discuss. He didn’t.
“We are not operating in isolation. This is what he has been doing all the time in this council as if he is ‘The Boss’ and ultimately that is what was said in various forums, and that is not what the constitution said.”
Gasper said the Mayor needs to give the council, the democratic body, a chance. “Only if there is a dire need and he is overseas, but as soon as possible he should inform the council. That is what we call a round robin. He could have postponed this press conference to be able to have a quick talk with his councillors.
“There is where I have a problem, because he constantly keeps doing this, going ahead and making decisions without consulting the council. This council will not go forward if he is going to represent this body, because he was not even around with the whole issue of that television station.
“You are commending people with one mouth and in another way you want to hijack the television station? It is not right.”
The councillor said that he heard that Phillip Bynoe was also named as a representative. “These are people who were not around during the struggle in Linden for the television station.”
“If the President and other senior Ministers cannot come and rectify the situation in Linden, then maybe the people in Linden will have to take to the streets, because lives were lost for this television station.”

---

---