The GNBA corruptibility must be exposed!

Sep 22, 2016 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Monday evening I had a Nicky’s fish and chips lime with Imran Khan of the Prime Minister’s Office and Leonard Craig, Chairman of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA). Readers of this column would know Craig and I are very good friends. I got to know Imran from the 2015 election campaign and we have developed a good relation.
At the time we were at Nicky’s I had absolutely no idea about the corruptibility at GBNA that has now been exposed by Kaieteur News. Had I known that, I would have told Leonard and Imran in furious terms that they have to expose this kind of atavistic depravity that the nation experienced under Jagdeo’s oligarchy. Let me do some clarification right here and now for every human that reads this column.
It was reported to me that on a discussion programme on television on channel 6, Craig was severely criticized for the GNBA’s refusal to cancel the radio license giveaway to Jagdeo’s friends by Jagdeo which Jagdeo did just before he demitted office. One of the panelists, Mr. Sankies, in chastising Craig, yelled out; “And you know who is his friend? Freddie Kissoon.” I take that to mean that Craig is doing a wrong and I should share some blame because Craig is my friend.
Mr. Glenn Lall of this newspaper has repeatedly said to me that Craig is my friend and why don’t you talk to him about the radio license thing. For the record, I have consistently told Craig that the radio license abrogation must be done and that his political career stands to take a beating for this lapse. I have continuously told Craig that he cannot be evasive with the press on this issue because the press will not accept that kind of attitude.
On one occasion when I raised the imbroglio again with Craig, he said the call has to come from the Prime Minister. As late as last Monday at Nicky’s in front of Imran Khan, I brought up the GNBA fiasco with Tony Vieira.
Let me say to Mr. Lall and Mr. Sankies, I believe Craig should reverse that unjust depravity of Jagdeo and if he has not got the power to do it then he should tell that to the nation so we could turn our attention to the Prime Minister. I now turn my attention to the allegation that two GNBA Board members attempted to coerce a license holder for him to transfer his license to one of Guyana’s richest men. Because of the wealth of this man, I believe money is at the centre of the transaction.
We have reached a stage here where some folks are so wealthy that the little hand-out they give to state officials are an enormous amount in the context of the financial standing of the state officials. Fifty million dollars to a ruling politician puts them good for the rest of their lives but that fifty million is literally peanuts to the wealthy guy who gave it away. I think this kind of sickening immorality that characterized the Jagdeo/Ramotar epoch and has crept into post-2015 Guyana. I believe it is rampant in City Hall’s dealing with the Georgetown business community and it has a presence in the Coalition Government.
The rich business tycoon who wants the license is so wealthy that his offer to the two GNBA members could not be refused. Where do we go from here? Is it alright for the nation to know about what Carvil Duncan allegedly did at GPL, Mike Khan at the Georgetown Hospital, Valmiki Singh at the National Frequency Management Unit, some people at GECOM, some people at the Forestry Commission etc but not the names of two GNBA Board members and the wealthy tycoon?
Of course this is the way Guyana is. Do you think we will know who those people are? We can do some logical deduction. If the incident took place in Essequibo and the businessman is one of the wealthiest in Guyana then we can likely guess correctly who he is. The other two, who belong to the GNBA, we may never know their names. If the media tries to name them, we may end up with a libel suit.
But there are ways to get around libel. If you say the businessman is into gold mining then he would be silly to sue because many Essequibo businessmen are into mining. Jagdeo is gone. Ramotar is gone. The PPP is gone. But the famous French saying will never go away; “the more things change, the more they remain the same.” I wonder what Hegel would say of that dialectic.

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The GNBA corruptibility must be exposed!

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