President Bharrat Jagdeo and Leader of the Opposition, Desmond Hoyte, yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Wireless Telegraphy Regulations, effectively ending the controversy, which flared some months ago when Prime Minister Sam Hinds had single-handedly promulgated them.
Following the signing, they fielded questions about the state of their six-month-old dialogue and seemed at one about what had to be done to ensure that it achieved its objectives.
Both leaders agreed that the joint statement issued after their meeting on Tuesday reflected their positions on the matters engaging their attention. Both agreed that they were dissatisfied with the pace of the work of some of the committees.
A smiling Leader of the Opposition, Desmond Hoyte (left) and an equally pleased President Jagdeo shaking hands yesterday after they signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Wireless Telegraphy Regulations at the Office of the President. (Ken Moore photo)
And President Jagdeo commenting on the role of the joint committees said that because their members came from both parties, their recommendations should influence the policies of the government. However, he stressed the need for them to submit their reports, explaining that the issues on which they could not agree should be referred to himself and Hoyte to resolve.
According to the MOU, the Prime Minister, as minister responsible under the Post and Telegraph Act, will amend the regulations to provide for the appointment of an Advisory Committee on Broadcasting to advise him as regards compliance by television station licensees with the terms and conditions of their licences and to recommend appropriate action in the event of failure by a licensee to comply.
The Advisory Committee will comprise a chairman nominated by the President, one member nominated by the Leader of the Opposition, and another nominated by the Private Sector Commission. The Prime Minister will appoint the persons nominated to the committee. The committee could also be expanded to include two other members but their appointments would have to be agreed between the parties.
The amendment to the regulations was recommended by the joint committee on radio monopoly and non-partisan boards, which had been asked by the President Jagdeo and Hoyte to recommend a course of action following their unilateral promulgation by the Prime Minister.
The request to the committee was made after Hoyte objected to the Prime Minister's actions, which he described as designed to undermine the work of the committee, part of whose mandate was to recommend new broadcast legislation.
Hoyte said that the Prime Minister had presented them with a fait accompli and something had to be done to resolve the issue. He conceded that nothing was wrong with the regulations, but he was concerned with the provision which made the Prime Minister the sole arbiter as to whether a licensee was in compliance with the conditions of his licence.
He explained that there was need for an independent body, which would be appointed with the understanding that the Prime Minister would accept its advice.
President Jagdeo agreed with Hoyte on the need for an independent committee that would need "to be seen as fair and impartial for it to have any credibility to administer the regulations and so that when they make decisions those decisions would be widely accepted by the public."
President Jagdeo explained the Prime Minister's action in unilaterally promulgating the regulations, as being prompted by the excesses that had been committed by sections of the media in the past. He said "the new regulations would allow for an environment within which we can have dissent based on the interpretation of this committee and the wider society, television and radio that would promote the development of the country and they will hopefully administer it in an impartial way."
He said too that the new regulations would impose greater responsibility on the broadcast media as there would be some standards that would have to be met.
Commenting on pace of the work done by some of the committees, Hoyte cited the committee on depressed committees, explaining that its members had not gone about the work with the urgency expected of them. The committee has been asked to complete its work expeditiously.
The President referred to the committee on bauxite resuscitation, which he said had submitted recommendations on the Alcoa concept paper, but which, because of the changed circumstances, were not practical. He explained that the recommendation in main was about employing delaying tactics but once Alcoa decided to pull out the government had no space to manoeuvre, and it had to pursue an engagement that would save jobs. He said that they were still to deal with Bermine and Linmine.
Hoyte said that the work of the committee, composed of good people knowledgeable about the industry, had been complicated by the Prime Minister's political perception of his duty.
Hoyte said too that another factor was Bermine Employees Group insisting that their proposal remain sealed because of the fear that Aroaima would be undermine it. He said that permission had been given for the proposal to be unsealed and that it would be considered at a meeting to be held on November 12.
He conceded too that the work commitments of the two co-chairmen, which required them to travel a lot, also prevented them from meeting with the desired frequency. The committee last met late August.
The committee has been given until the end of the month to submit its reports on Berbice Mining Company (Bermine) and the Linden Mining Company (Linmine).
Asked if there had been agreement on the philosophy underpinning the constituting of the land selection committees, which now had a November 15, deadline, President Jagdeo explained that it was not a matter of philosophy but the need to get the report completed.
He stressed that lack of agreement on a particular issue should not delay the work of the committees as the contentious issues should be referred to himself and Hoyte for resolution.