Former Magistrate and Attorney-at-Law, Leslie Sobers, has been named Chairman of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) as Government announces the new Board of Directors.
This was disclosed by Minister of State Joseph Harmon on Friday at the post-
New Chairman, Leslie Sobers
Cabinet briefing.
A part from Sobers, the other Board Members that Cabinet gave its no-objection to are; Shaharazad Khan, Dr Rovin Deodat, Jocelyn Josiah, Aretha Campbell, Joel Edmonds and a representative from the Opposition, who is yet to be named.
Harmon noted that while in the past, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Opposition stayed away from naming their nominees to the various State boards, he is hope that this situation does not continue given the important role of the Broadcasting Authority.
“I trust that (Opposition Leader Bharrat) Jagdeo would recognised that this is an important matter for the Opposition and that they send a nominee for that board,” he stated.
According to the Minister of State, this new board became operational from February 1 and will serve for two years.
The previous board of directors comprised Leonard Craig, Anthony Vieira, Vic Insanally, Abiola Wong-Inniss, Jocelyn Josiah and Ameena Gafoor.
Back in September, that board appointed Dr Prudence Lewis-Bhola as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
According to a statement from the GNBA, Dr Lewis-Bhola possesses a wealth of experience in broadcasting for over a decade and an extensive background in private sector management. She also “exemplifies all the requisite skills, knowledge and abilities necessary to successfully execute the mandate of the GNBA.”
At the time, however, Craig, Vieira and Insanally were involved in a squabble which led to the two Directors threatening the former Chairman through their lawyers for allegedly disseminating information they said was untrue.
The allegations made public by Craig was that the men had approached an Essequibo businessman in an attempt to ostensibly force him out of business. Craig was being accused of intentionally and maliciously circulating in the media, an unwarranted allegation which imputes that they were guilty of corruption in public office.
The duo – through their lawyers – had also claimed that the allegations by the Craig was in fact made public without either of them being given a chance at a fair hearing with an opportunity to respond to the claims made.
This prompted Government to set up an Inquiry, which was conducted by Major General (Retired) Joseph Singh, to probe is issue. Based on the findings and recommendations by Singh, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo was given the go ahead by Cabinet to sack Craig back in December. However, the former GNBA Chairman handed in his resignation on December 16 just as the Prime Minister was about to inform him of Cabinet’s decision.
During that meeting, the Prime Minister communicated to board members that Insanally and Vieira were impugned by public statements attributed to Craig. Nagamootoo had stated that based on the inquiry’s finding, neither of the two members were found to be “dishonest or corrupt”.
Furthermore, the release stated that the Prime Minister also felt that Craig, also an Alliance For Change (AFC) member, is an invaluable intellectual asset who had accepted nomination to the GNBA with enthusiasm and commitment, but has unfortunately mishandled inter-personal relations with other colleagues.
