New GNBA Board looking into illegal radio licences - Harmon

New GNBA Board looking into illegal radio licences – Harmon

Apr 14, 2017 News

Minister of State Joseph Harmon has assured that the new Board of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) is currently addressing matters surrounding illegally granted radio licences.
Harmon was one who, while in opposition, criticized former President Bharrat Jagdeo for granting radio licences to his friends and family. He even protested for the licences to be revoked. Now that Harmon is in government, changes are still to be made.
The Minister of State was asked yesterday if he has reminded Cabinet of the wrong committed, and the importance of having these issues addressed. He did not answer this question directly.
Instead, Harmon responded, “What I can say is that we have appointed a new board, and the authority understands the position of the APNU+AFC administration on the matter.” Harmon went further to say, “I can assure you that they are looking into it right now.”
On the issue of the non appointment of Opposition nominee, Bibi Shadick, to the Board, Harmon effectively said that she has to wait. He said that the Opposition cannot expect to submit Shadick’s name “today and expect to have her sit on the Board tomorrow.”
He said that the rest of the Board was appointed without Shadick, because the opposition had established that it was not interested in having representation on any State Board.
Meanwhile the Board has been having meetings without Shadick. But Prime Minister Nagamootoo has no idea what progress the Board is making. All he knows is that “they have been meeting.”
He said that he met with the members when they were sworn in about two months ago. The Prime Minister has however received no report since then. He said that queries about the work of the Board must be directed to the Board Chairman, Leslie Sobers.
However, for no less than four weeks now, Kaieteur News has been trying to make contact with Sobers, but to no avail.
The legacy of the last GNBA Board appointed by the APNU+AFC is poor. Its work was almost nonexistent and members mostly fought among themselves. The Board was also accused of corruption but a Commission of Inquiry into these allegations found that they were false. Nevertheless, there is nothing significant to that Board’s credit.
The issues that need to be addressed in Broadcasting remain many. Mainly, the APNU+AFC government promised that it will reverse the wanton distribution of radio licences to Jagdeo’s friends and family. The distribution was made days before Jagdeo demitted office.

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