Radio stations, GNBA Head clash over payments

Two leading radio stations have denied owing monies to the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) but the Agency’s Chairman Leslie Sobers is maintaining that at least one of the broadcasters still has millions in outstanding payments.

The Kaieteur News reported in its April 10, 2018 edition that the state-owned National Communications Network (NCN) 98.1 Hot FM and Hits and Jams Radio 94.1 Boom FM will be taken off air very soon over its failure to pay the Broadcasting Authority millions of dollars in backed-up fees.

NCN and HJ Entertainment have, however, issued statements denying the reports and they also called for an apology from the controversial news outlet. According to the radio stations, they are up to date on all of its fees owed to the GNBA for last year.

But Sobers told News Room during a telephone interview today that up to Friday last, HJ Entertainment was listed as noncompliant. Sobers said the radio station may have brought themselves in compliance with the GNBA either on Saturday or Monday and so the list of “compliant broadcasters” he gave to the Kaieteur News was not updated.

In fact, he explained that though HJ is now regarded as “compliant”, the radio station still owes the State millions.

“HJ signed an agreement to clear the backlog, it’s not like these are really nice goody-goody guys. They owe us, they owe the nation money and don’t even want to pay the money, we had to be behind them, we had to come up with these coercive methods and then they come in and pay a 50% and pay the rest over months,” Sobers explained.

HJ in its statement today said, “our financial obligations to the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) are currently up to date on all 2017 fees owed for 94.1 Boom FM, and as far as we know we are not listed ‘among stations to be taken off air very soon’.”

Regarding NCN, the GNBA Head said his records show that the entity is on the compliant list for television stations but not for radio stations. Sobers said he will have to check the records and clarify their status regarding radio compliance.

NCN in its statement in response to the Kaieteur News headline story said, “We take our financial obligations to the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) very seriously and are currently up-to-date on all 2017 fees owed to the GNBA for all three of our radio stations.”

Meanwhile, Sobers pointed out that some radio broadcasters are only “compliant” with regards to the payment of their fees. He said in the case of HJ Entertainment, the radio station is still noncompliant when it comes to other aspects of its operations.

“HJ is known for having questionable content, infractions, there are other obligations they are supposed to honour in accordance to the law they have fallen short of that I have not turned my attention to as yet, we are trying to deal with the money part first and then when we sort that out we are going to deal with the content and other obligations,” Sobers said.

He explained that, “these broadcasters are making millions all the years, all the programmes that they taking down from the internet, pirating other people contents and selling it back to the Guyanese nation with no serious overheads and then don’t want to pay and then now we coming against them, they are crying out.”