| – Freddie Kissoon By Latoya Giles Veteran columnist and social activist Freddie Kissoon says that the People’s Progressive Party has “reached a point where they think that they are invincible”. Kissoon made the statement recently while commenting on the selective distribution of the cable and radio licenses by former President, Bharrat Jagdeo.According to Kissoon, the party began to operate in this manner ever since Jagdeo was elected to office. Kissoon said that the present administration has treated laws, morality, and the ethical foundation of Guyana as if they are toys in their hands.Further Kissoon said that no one has truly analyzed or even debated the implication of the e-governance cable. According to the columnist, with the cable being in operation, it would allow persons to tamper with any website in Guyana.“They can now interfere with programmes,” Kissoon stressed. He explained that if someone has registered their website in New York, and once the cable is operational, the government can block Twitter, Facebook and numerous other social media websites.Kissoon noted that the move by the government truly makes it “one of the most inept governments in the Caribbean, and probably the worst outside Latin America”.The issue of limited spectrum has also been a cause of much concern in Guyana after former President, Bharrat Jagdeo, used his executive powers to grant to several persons, including his party’s newspaper, The Mirror, five frequencies to broadcast countrywide. This happened days before Jagdeo’s Presidential term was due to end in November 2011 when General Elections were held.The move has widely been seen as carefully planned by Jadgeo and the ruling party to control the airwaves of Guyana. Jagdeo also granted five radio frequencies to his personal friend, Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop and another five to Omkar Lochan,Wholesale NFL Jerseys Online, Permanent Secretary of the Natural Resources Ministry whose Minister, Robert Persaud, happens to be the nephew-in-law of Jagdeo.The former President did not stop there. He also granted two cable licenses to close associates–Brian Yong and Vishok Persaud. Persaud is the son of the late former Government Parliamentarian and Agriculture Minister, Reepu Persaud, while Yong was a candidate for the ruling party during the 2011 elections.Reportedly, the 2.5 Gigahertz band granted to Persaud and Yong is capable of offering other services, including catering to smartphones and the popular tablet computers. Radio and telephone services could also be offered using this band.There have been several protests by local media houses which had applications in for radio licenses but were inexplicably sidelined when Jagdeo made his decision. There are indications that no procedures were followed and that the former President merely used his executive powers, knowing he had days left in office.The Donald Ramotar administration, hard pressed to recall the licences, has defended Jagdeo, saying he did nothing wrong. The administration was silent on accusations that one businessman – Maxwell Thom- was granted a licence although he was facing financial problems in 2011.One of the criteria was for the applicant to show that he/she has the finances.Both Kaieteur News and Stabroek News, two independent newspapers, were sidelined by Jagdeo. They and others are now being asked to submit fresh applications. Radio and television licenses have been a sore issue between the Opposition and Government with an agreement brokered in early 2000 for no new ones until reforms in the broadcasting legislation. This was passed in the National Assembly during 2011. Jagdeo did not wait on the mandated Broadcast Authority to handle the licencing, despite the new law. |
