Better is expected from this man who is a Member of Parliament

Apr 27, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
Response is being made to Jermaine Figueira’s letter “Why the secrecy on Linden TV documents?” His response is purportedly attempting a response to my article, “The power-grabbing effort to control Linden Television” (9th April, 2017).
Let me from the outset say to Figueira, as an Educator/Teacher and Member of Parliament better is expected of him. Approaching this issue in a sensible manner requires understanding of the Broadcasting Act (2011), what constitutes an Agreement as in the instance of the 21st August 2012, and universal acceptable principles. This is a matter of national import that ought not to be trivialised in thinking or actions.
1. The issue before us is the walking out of Figueira, Mayor Carwyn Holland, Regional Chairman Renis Morian and CDC Deputy Director Sandra Adams from the inaugural meeting of the television board to elect its chairman, vice-chairman and secretary, by the way of balloting. There is a significant difference between balloting and voting. Balloting is a secret process. Voting can be either through balloting, show of hands, yea or nay, etc;
2. The Articles of Association of the Trust is a public document. The Trust is a legal entity, registered under the Laws of Guyana. The record is housed at the Registry and a copy can be accessed from there. This fact makes nonsense of his position that there is “secrecy” about the document and not having it in his possession. One would expect better from a Member of Parliament/lawmaker, who ought to be au fait with where public documents are stored and can be retrieved;
3. The meeting of 31st March was specifically called to elect officers of the Board (GC 29th March). It meant therefore that this would have been the first order of business on the agenda. It was the disregard for this, and the contempt for the will of the majority of the members to have officers elected through balloting, that led to the walkout of the four;
4. The Guyana Broadcasting Act is a useful instrument in informing that the Trust is eligible for a licence, how the broadcasting landscape ought to work, and the role of the Broadcasting Authority. Reading and understanding it makes useful for intelligent discourse and approaches surrounding the people of Linden being denied their station;
5. It is a reckless response to my irrefutable contention that those today who are seeking to deny the return of the television were lukewarm, standing on the side line or did not support the struggle, can constitute those who were out there, day in and day out, and gave various forms of support during the period;
6. The insertion of Tony Vieira in this discourse has nothing to do with the establishment of the Trust, the election of the officers, and issuance of the licence. This is another demonstration of the inability to address the substantive issue;
7. The content of Figueria’s letter is clearly that of someone who has not read, does not understand, pays no attention to details, or is operating outside his league. This is a very troubling feature in our society and does not augur well for the people’s well-being.
I stand by the position that the institutions of government (central and regional), the political parties and the political groups (PNCR, PPP/C, AFC and APNU) made no financial contribution in the establishment of the Trust. Equally, the position that this issue for the four is about power and title is evident in their failure to grasp points 1, 2, 3 and 4 and act accordingly.
Finally, the opportunity is taken to advise this young man that in public life it is always better and rewarding to stand on the pedestal of universal acceptable principles.
Lincoln Lewis

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