Prime Minister Nagamootoo reaffirms support for GNBA- there is a difference “between government information and government provided information and party propaganda

DPI, GUYANA, Wednesday, August 16, 2017

First Vice President and Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo met today, with board members of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) at the Authority’s office on Lamaha Street.

The Prime Minister welcomed the members to their new location and congratulated the organisation on their work completed so far, and also for their recommendations that were made and inputted in the Broadcast Act.

The three Ps ‘Public Private Partnership’ were noted by the Prime Minister, as important in the execution of the functions and mandate of the GNBA.  “You have my support full as the Minister with responsibility for broadcasting. In your zoning activities in redefining the contours of broadcasting in Guyana”, he said.

The issue of boadcast time was discussed extensively.  Prime Minister Nagamootoo noted that the Authority recommended one minute per 60 minutes per day. He explained “the Act had stated that a certain percentage of broadcast time shall be made available for public broadcasting which was called Development Support Broadcasting”.

Prime Minister said that the orgnaistion should not leave it to government to create 60- minute or 10minute content, but open it to all enterprising persons, “…maybe a fund could be developed by the GNBA … for producers of Public Content, Public Information Content and they should apply to access the funds to produce programmes whether is a programme they wish to produce in a particular way, in a particular format to deal with suicide prevention, or smoking to alcohol consumption.”

Prime Minister Nagamootoo identified that there is a difference “between government information and government provided information and party propaganda”. He noted that “no station private or public” should be required or mandated to carry party political propaganda; the GNBA needs to assure the Guyanese people that its understands public broadcasting content is not synonymous with political party propaganda.

Whilst addressing key issues in the meeting, he told the board members that clarity is needed on the number of companies that have not submitted their annual license fee since 2016, as this renders them unlicensed and vulnerable under the law.

“I would like that at this meeting with you whether or not the payment of fees would have meant that any action would have been taken in regards to the assigned frequencies; because there is a requirement under law that all persons, legal person that is licensed to operate must pay a fee. I need to be informed by this Authority what is the status of those entities that have not paid their fees and have been operating”, Prime Minister Nagamootoo said.

Additionally, the amount licensed operators are required to pay was discussed.  The Prime Minister said the previous regulation had stipulated a certain amount in the fee structure. He explained that there was an alternative that they either pay the base fee or 3.5 percent of Gross revenues.

He asked to be advised on whether licensees had stated a profit or if they were declaring losses because, “it means that the computation of 3.5 percent would have to be defined whether it was intended to be growth gross or net gross, because I heard in the National Assembly that if Broadcasters were to go with the one-hour public service broadcasting they will suffer the loss of millions of dollars because their revenue is computed on a fix sum of $30,000 per hour”, he pointed out.

The Prime Minister urged board members to earnestly pursue the matter to ascertain the actual amount operators were earning when they do not disclose gross earnings; since this means the Authority is being cheated out of revenues it is entitled to under the law

The Prime Minister empahsised that e broadcasting was created to satisfy the needs and necessities of the community which it serves.

By: Gabrelia Patram