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Broadcasting Authority issues postdated radio licences
GNBA Chairman, Leslie Sobers (third from left) poses for a picture with the recipients of the postdated radio licences
The Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) issued, yesterday, several postdated radio licences to operators who were deemed compliant up to the period ending 2016.
The simple handing over ceremony was held at GNBA’s Lamaha Street office.
The recipients included National Television Network Radio Inc., iRadio Inc. , National Communications Network , Wireless Connections , and Radio Guyana Incorporated. It was noted that apart from those at yesterday’s ceremony, other broadcasting companies such as Freedom Radio received their postdated licences.
GNBA Chairman, Leslie Sobers said, “We decided to start with radio to kick start (the process) but in the new week, we will be moving to issue new licences for television and cable. These (radio) licences reflect the period ending December 2016. Some persons here would have licences signed for 2014, 2015 and 2016. We are still to issue for 2017 but that will be approached with care.”
In this regard, the GNBA Chairman said that the Amendment to the Broadcasting legislation which was assented to on September 7, and came into law on the same day, brought about some crucial changes. On this premise, Sobers noted that the new legislation enforces the rule of zoning.
Sobers said that in the past, some broadcasters in Georgetown were able to reach areas in Berbice and Essequibo where small operators were already established. Those small operators would be affected by Georgetown broadcasters, and in some cases, unable to operate their business effectively. Sobers said that while this was taking place, the small operator was made to pay the same base fee as the larger operator.
The GNBA Chairman said, “That was somewhat unreasonable to the small broadcaster…So the amendment in the Act sought to correct that. Zoning has now corrected that. For example, at the primary level, we have for radio, a base fee of $2.5M. For the secondary zone, that is reduced by half and for the Tertiary zone that is also reduced by half…”
He continued, “A television operator in the Georgetown area would pay a fee of $1.2M per annum. In the secondary zone, it would be $600,000 and in tertiary areas, let’s say Lethem for example, it would be $300,000. We believe that is fair given geographic locations and population…”
Sobers added, “So today (yesterday), we are doing up to 2016 because the points I just raised would determine how we do the licensing for 2017…So we are considering if we are going to go from January to September under the old Act or from September to December under new Act since the amended law came into being in September.”
The GNBA Chairman said that the Board is also considering if it should use one fee for 2017 and start fresh from 2018. He said that these are the two considerations before the board which will be decided on at its next board meeting.
Sobers also reminded that there are arguments in the public that the amended law robs some of their Constitutional rights to disseminate information freely. In this regard, the GNBA Chairman stressed that the work of the board, including the issuing of the licences, is not intended to violate in any way, the constitutional right of anyone’s freedom of expression or freedom to receive information.
The GNBA Chairman also noted that the purpose of the postdated licences was to bring things back “on even keel.”
“Some of these licences were not issued before. And there are reasons for that. It was public knowledge that the board was going through a trying time and there was a transition between the old and the new board. And so licensing was not done. We are trying to create a sense of normalcy and move forward with some degree of smoothness for 2017.”
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