NCN CEO gets higher salary than ministers …new board uneasy about performance

THE Chief Executive of NCN, Molly Hassan, takes home close to $1 million, but her management of state-owned radio and TV network puts her on slippery ground with the new board. The new administration has expressed dissatisfaction with the state of NCN, and now some members of the new board are said to be extremely disappointed with Hassan’s management. This leaves Hassan’s further role at the entity hanging in the balance. Sources at NCN revealed that Hassan’s pay package is as follows:

Basic Salary: $707,347 Duty Allowance $25,000 Entertainment Allowance $25,000 Security Allowance $30,000 Housing Allowance $50,000 Landline Telephone fully paid, on average $5,000 Cell phone bill fully paid average $25,000 DSL Services for her home $9,980. Fridge allowance for the office $10,000. Tea Items for herself average $5,000 Vehicle and a Driver. Gratuity every six months 22.5%

The salary was approved by the previous board under the influence of then information liaison to the president Kwame McCoy.

Hassan’s pay package is similar to that received by some previous Presidential Advisers, including Gail Teixeira, Odinga Lumumba and others. It is in fact almost double what current advisers to the President receive and more than some government ministers. At the recent establishment of the Board of Directors of NCN, Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo had pointed out that the state broadcaster had fallen on hard times, mainly because it did not communicate properly nor was it national. “It is a network and it is a network that Bish Panday (new NCN chairman) and his team would inherit but still has a lot of cobwebs that have to be cleaned,” he said. NCN he said has tremendous potential, but yet its reach is not national today as it was before. The Rupununi and the North West District at one time received the Voice of Guyana (VoG) but no longer do. “Could you imagine living in Guyana and you can’t receive the Voice of Guyana? How awful it is that you are tuning in and you are receiving the Voice of Venezuela, the Voice of Brazil and not the joyous voice of Guyana? It is an indictment,” the Prime Minister said. He said he has been in touch with veteran broadcaster Dr Rovin Deodat and from their discussions the prospect for extending the reach of radio appears bright. There are plans also to extend the reach of radio to the North West District, Region 8, to the Rupununi, beyond Radio Paiwomak or use Paiwomak as a booster and set up other transmitters to take signals way down south of the border. These plans, Nagamootoo said, will be shared with the new NCN Board. And still on NCN, he said that there are also plans to enhance the aesthetics of the building, pointing out that the company has the money to carry out these works. A Bob cat will be taken to the company to do some clean-up works while 14 derelict vehicles will be removed. The new board also heard that NCN was owed in excess of $600 million, but has managed to cut this down to $200 million. NCN, the Prime Minister said, is not in debt but in receivables. The pile up in receivables occurred with the company continuing to engage persons who owe it outstanding sums. This will happen no longer, said new Chairman Bish Panday. NCN can be transformed with good leadership, Nagamootoo said.