Legal showdown looms over Broadcast Amendment Act

…as Freedom Radio hauls Broadcast Authority to court

Freedom Radio Inc has filed a constitutional challenge in the High Court, over the Administration’s imposition of an ‘onerous’ increase in the annual broadcasting fee and the expropriation of its airwaves during ‘prime time,’ for Government broadcasts.Freedom Radio Inc has filed a constitutional challenge in the High Court, over the Administration’s imposition of an ‘onerous’ increase in the annual broadcasting fee and the expropriation of its airwaves during ‘prime time,’ for Government broadcasts.

Nandlall and Associates on Tuesday filed the legal challenge calling on the court to place on hold the enforcement of several provisions in the Broadcasting Act until the determination of the Judiciary.Freedom Radio Director, Irfaan Ali, in a sworn affidavit filed by former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, claims that provisions in the Broadcast Act, expropriates the business’s airwaves causing it to lose on its revenue during ‘prime time,’ this, without compensation. Unconstitutional Ali in his affidavit seen by Guyana Times International, states Freedom Radio Inc is in the business of selling airtime for reward and the provisions looking to be enforced by the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) are not only onerous but are in fact unconstitutional since it violates guaranteed and protected rights and freedoms.The coalition A Partnership for National Unity, Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Administration had amended and recently assented new broadcast legislative provisions.These provisions compel local broadcasters to broadcast Government programmes under the ambit of ‘public service programmes.’The ‘public service’ programmes were heavily criticised during the parliamentary debates on the amendment and were lambasted as tantamount to nothing but Government propaganda.Freedom Radio Inc is owned and managed by the Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP), which in its legal challenge notes, “between the hours of 06:00h and 22:00h are considered prime-time; this means that these hours attract the highest rates of rewards.”The affidavit documents that an hour during this period can easily be sold at a more competitive rate – higher depending upon the particular day of the week – and as such the demand by Government in fact ‘expropriates’ money from Freedom Radio without compensation.Freedom Radio argues in its legal challenge that the move is in fact unconstitutional since it violates fundamentals rights and freedom which enjoy protection under the Constitution of Guyana.Onerous feesFreedom Radio Director Ali, in filing litigation, has also pointed to the drastically altered fee regime which is now being charged under the principal Act.Ali in the sworn affidavit stated that the fees have been increased to G$7.5 million annually, up from the G$2.5 million previous payments.Freedom Radio Inc previously paid G$2.5 million annual for its Broadcasting Licence in addition to another payment of G $633,600 for its Spectrum/Frequency.These fees were paid over to the then National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU); the predecessor to the Guyana Broadcasting Authority which came into being with the assent of the amended broadcasting laws by Head of State David Granger.Under the new regime, the Administration introduced a zoning system and charges fees for each zone.According to Freedom Radio in its challenge, with the new zoning system, the fee “for a broadcasting licence to broadcast in the very areas that it is now transmitting would skyrocket from G$2,500,000 annually, to over G$7,500,000 annually.DamagesFreedom Radio has since approached the court calling for a Conservatory Order, prohibiting the Broadcasting Authority, from implementing or acting in accordance with – in any manner whatsoever – enforcing the provisions of the Broadcasting Amendment Act 2017, Act No 20 of 2017, until the hearing and determination of its Fixed Date Application filed.The company in is application is also looking to have a Judge award damages in excess of G$1 million for breach of the Radio Guyana Inc’s – a duly registered limited liability company – fundamental rights and freedoms.The political Opposition had on Friday last reminded that despite calls from the Guyana Press Association, Caribbean Association of Media Workers, Reporters without Broader and other major organisations representing the cause of journalism and freedom of the press to the Government to withdraw the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2017, “the Government ignored all these calls, passed the Bill in the National Assembly.”President Granger has since assented to it and upon the directions of the Prime Minister; the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) has begun to enforce its prov