Jagdeo authorized radio licence for
‘Ghost Company’
Days before President Bharrat Jagdeo demitted office, he directed that a ‘Ghost Company’ be handed a radio licence with five frequencies.
General Elections were held on November 28, 2011; Radio Guyana Inc., was incorporated on December 14, 2011, more than two weeks later. Ramroop was listed as the lone director.
Bobby Ramroop
A few days later, he appointed as Company Secretary, Lakshmiwatie Shiwnandan, an Attorney-at-Law, whose mailing address was listed as Queens Atlantic Industrial Estate, Industrial Site, Ruimveldt.
Two Radio Companies
It has now since been revealed that Ramroop owns two separate radio companies— Radio Guyana Inc, and ‘One Guyana Radio Inc.’
One Guyana Radio Inc. was registered three days before the General Elections of 2011 and is still to receive a licence to operate. When this company was incorporated, Ramroop appointed himself as sole director.
As is the case with his other radio company, Ramroop also appointed as Company Secretary, Lakshmiwatie Shiwnandan.
One Guyana Radio Inc does not broadcast.
Bharrat Jagdeo
Airwaves
Other broadcast facilities had been approved for licences by Jagdeo before he left office, among them the New Guyana Company Limited, which publishes the Mirror newspaper, and belongs to the ruling People’s Progressive Party.
That company was handed five radio frequencies and is yet to commence broadcasting.
In addition, Telecor and Cultural Broadcasting Incorporated, was granted five radio frequencies.
Telecor had at the time, Ruth Baljit, the sister of Robert Persaud, as its sole shareholder.
Persaud’s wife, Kamini Persaud, who also happens to be Jagdeo’s niece, was the other director.
Jagdeo gave one radio frequency each to other persons.
These are NTN Radio (Anand Persaud), Rudy Grant, Wireless Connections (Maxwell Thom), Hits and Jams Entertainment (Rawle Ferguson), Alfro Alphonso and Sons Enterprise (Alfro Alphonso), Haslyn Graham and
Robert Persaud
Little Rock Television Station (Rockliffe Christie). There are other radio licences in the pipeline. A meeting to examine those applications will be held on Monday, December 16.
In December 2010, Jagdeo had also granted two close associates of the PPP permission to broadcast television signals on the 2.5 GHz band, which allows for cable TV operations and internet-related services.
These persons were Vishok Persaud, the son of longstanding PPP stalwart Reepu Daman Persaud, and Brian Yong, who mounted the PPP platform in 1996.
Brian Yong