WHEN WILL THE PPP/C DUMMIES LEARN?
Govt. must answer why Linden is still
awaiting TV licence β Solomon
Government is reluctant to give the Region 10 community of Linden its own television station licence even though the Regional Administration has satisfied all the requirements, says Sharma Solomon, Region 10 Chairman.
According to Solomon, Government would have to explain to the people of Linden and Guyana why it does not want the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) to grant Linden its own television station licence.
He related that on November 29, during a bilateral meeting between Government, in the person of Head of Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon, and the Region, the issuance of the licence was one of the many matters raised.
He said that Government used its ongoing court case concerning the issuance of television station licences as an excuse to not grant Linden its license.
Six broadcasters are challenging a $2.5M fee that they say was arbitrarily imposed by Government in High Court. The new fees, if allowed to be fully implemented, will effectively close operations as owners will be unable to afford them, representatives claimed.
However, Solomon, who sought legal advice, was told that the existing court case could not affect the issuance of the licence, since the Region has satisfied the existing criteria. Some of the criteria the Region had to satisfy were the filling up an application form; establishing and registering a company; and appointing the Board of Directors.
According to Solomon, the Region has made it clear to Government that it will not communicate directly with GNBA owing to the bodyβs composition. Instead, all documents were given to Government for action.
He said that the Regional Administration recently held a radio-thon via its own radio station to raise funds to construct the building to house the television station. Equipme