Guyana Chronicle
May 30, 2001

INITIAL reports were generally upbeat from Monday’s meeting between Prime Minister Sam Hinds and television station owners and broadcasters on bringing order to a sector that’s widely accepted as being without order.

Mr. Hinds announced that TV stations that are operational across the country have a one-month ultimatum to apply for TV licences.

A proposed TV fee structure, which will be applied for issuing a television broadcast licence, was also issued at the meeting and the feedback was that the fees proposed were “not bad”.

It’s probably a sign that the TV station owners and operators can eventually find common ground with the government on how to curb the TV programme excesses that have been agonising so many people for so long.

Getting licenced is the first step towards playing by the rules in a wayward landscape in which few have so far been willing to abide by any rules.

It’s left to be seen how many will abide by the one-month ultimatum and that will be an indication of how many would be prepared to play by the more critical rules - abiding by regionally and internationally acceptable standards for television.

As we have noted before, what passes for television here is unique and is almost unmatched anywhere else in the region or the hemisphere and the time has come for the renegades to be pulled in line.

Many of those who often beat their breast and scream about threats to freedom of the press any time regulating TV is brought up, clearly jump and dance to a tune that suits only them and their kind of freedom.

Freedom also carries rules and the rules have to be enforced if there is to be any kind of order in a society.

Mr. Hinds told the Monday meeting, “Our purpose here today...is to fully brief you on the steps to be taken in compliance with the Act.”

“We are not here to discuss future broadcast law, nor, in any way to anticipate or substitute for the work already begun and continuing in the drafting of new broadcast legislation.”

The regulations currently prescribe only for technical standards to be observed under the licence.

The regulations will be amended to include broadcast programme material standards to be observed and these will generally conform to the Code of Conduct presented to and agreed upon by the media at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) media roundtable held on October 8-10, 2000, Mr. Hinds said.

He also told the meeting that President Bharrat Jagdeo intends, after appropriate consultation, to appoint a Broadcasting Committee to advise him on the application of and compliance with the statutory requirements of the licence with particular respect to the terms and conditions governing broadcast programme material.

The government remains committed to accelerating the process of implementing new broadcast legislation, he said.

These are essential first steps on a long road and it is to be expected that all those who have again seen up close how dangerous dabbling in TV can be without rules, will rally around the campaign to bring order to a Wild West that should have been effectively dealt quite a while ago.