New Board of Directors for NCN, Guyana Chronicle – PM Nagamootoo

By Jomo Paul

[www.inewsguyana.com] – Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo had declared that that the state media – the Guyana Chronicle and National Communications Network (NCN) – will have new Board of Directors installed in the near future as the APNU+AFC government looks to improve the quality of work from those entities.

Nagamotoo made the announcement while speaking during the second sitting of the 11th Parliament on Thursday, June 25.

The Prime Minister made it clear that the new Boards will comprise of professionals who will work towards the betterment of the state media entities.

He said that the state media should “act as a professional body to tell Guyana and the world what government is doing, to inform the populace to make better choices and not fall prey to stigma of racism and appeals of ethnicity.”

Nagamootoo also pointed out that the Government Information Agency (GINA) will have a “shake up” since it is currently a burden to the state media.

“It has become like a heavy lead pulling down the NCN and Chronicle,” said Nagamootoo noting that an “investigation is underway and we believe that the huge sums of money owed…is unacceptable.”

GINA owes the Guyana Chronicle over $70M for ads that were placed during the elections campaign period.

“When one sees the Government Information Agency it must not be one that people will pay to monitor calls and wiretap or intercept Facebook messages and do things that are not in the domain of public information,” Nagamootoo emphasized.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister said it is time to correct the anomaly that obtains in Linden whereby the town only has one television station, signaling government’s intention to distribute broadcasting licenses.

This will be done following a restructuring of the broadcasting authority – National Frequency Management Unit.