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$2.5M radio licence fee to be reviewed – GNBA Chairman

By Abena Rockcliffe

Whether the Board will agree is another matter, but for Chairman of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) the 2011 distribution of radio licenses and the annual licensing fee that poses as a burden to most broadcasters are two things that need urgent review.
Consumer advocate, Leonard Craig, was appointed about a month ago to chair the all important GNBA.
Craig is known for taking on telecommunication companies like GTT and Digicel, and representing himself before the Public Utilities Commission.
Craig noted that even though there is “much to be done” he is settling in nicely.
Kaieteur News asked a ranged of questions, amongst which were questions about the “criminal and unfair” distribution of radio licenses back in 2011.
Craig said, “Criminal is not the word I would use but there seems to be forms of arbitrary decision making where that (the distribution) was concerned. Wherever that is detected it is a matter for the board to correct but, I, in my sole authority, cannot do so.”
Even as he admitted that he cannot make any decision on his own, Craig vowed to take the matter to the Board. “It is a matter that was well ventilated in the media yet there are many who still feel aggrieved.”
Craig said that he hopes that the licences of all radio broadcasters will be reviewed on a case by case basis. But before this review happens, Craig wants basic benchmarks to be set.
He said that in this regard, he hopes to call a conference for broadcasters. At such a forum, existing broadcasters will set the benchmarks themselves. Craig indicated that when the benchmarks are set, those very principles will be used as a guide for the board to determine the next steps.
The Chairman indicated that the Board has not met since its appointment. This, he explained, is due to the fact that all members are not immediately available for some reason or the other. However, Craig said that the Board is likely to meet sometime within the next two weeks. “I do not see it going past two weeks from now.”
Craig told Kaieteur News that the Board will also address outstanding radio applications. He said, “That is something that will be defiantly brought to the attention of the Board.”
He said, too, that the Board will most likely seek to put mechanisms in place to ensure that there is fair play.
Broadcasting fee
Craig also indicated that he wants a review of the fee set for broadcasters. Broadcasters currently pay an annual licencing fee of $2.5M.
In 2013, a PPP Cabinet decided that the annual licence fee for all licenced broadcasters, radio, TV and Cable, will pay either 3.5 % of their gross income or $2.5M yearly.
The Chairman said that he met with most broadcasters individually and many are asking for a review of the fee.
He said that based on that, “I have no choice but to bring this to the Board’s attention; as to how they will deal with it is still left to be seen.”
Craig said that he wants the Board to make all decisions in accordance with the law. “But whatever changes the Board proposes, I will be bold enough to implement all of them.’
Six broadcasters had initiated a court action after being told that they were required to pay the $2.5M fee. The broadcasters were CNS Channel 6; HBTV Channel 9; RBS Channel 13; HGTV Channel 16; MBC Channel 42 and SKAR Channel 102. Chang had ruled that the imposition should not have applied to existing broadcasters.
“The court holds that regulation 3 of the Broadcasting Regulations 2013 is valid to the extent that the minister has fixed a grant fee of $2. 5 million on first-time broadcasters but is invalid to the extent that the minister has purported to fix a percentage of 3.5% of gross revenue of the previous year for existing broadcasters,” the Chief Justice ruled.
GNBA is the regulatory body tasked with overseeing the operations of radio and televisions stations in Guyana. Established three years ago, the body was under immediate pressure after news came out that former President, Bharrat Jagdeo, before ending his two terms in office in 2011, approved several radio and cable television licences for mainly friends and his party members.
In so doing, he sidelined applications from several prominent media houses including Kaieteur News, Stabroek News, Capitol News, HBTV Channel Nine and CNS Channel Six.
This was despite a standing agreement for no new licences until new broadcasting regulations and the GNBA were in place.
Jagdeo’s best friend, Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, received one with multiple frequencies. Also receiving a similar number of frequencies was The Mirror, a newspaper which belongs to the ruling party and Telcor, a company with close links to serving Natural Resources Minister, Robert Persaud.
The disclosures of the licences, which also included approval for two cable TV operations, sparked court cases and several days of protests, as well as local and international condemnation.

Source: Kaieteur News