Radio stations will next year be established in four hinterland communities to the tune of $150 million, Finance Minister Winston Jordan has announced.
During his budget presentation to the National Assembly on Monday, Jordan said these radio entities would stimulate communication and information sharing in native languages.
“Our Government intends to do its utmost to preserve the cultural richness of our indigenous peoples even as we pursue accelerated development of the hinterland,” he said.
The communities that will be benefiting from radio stations are: Moruca and Santa Rosa in Region One (Barima-Waini); Orealla in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and Aishalton in
Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), according to Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock.
According to a report in today’s Guyana Times, Allicock explained that Government would establish the stations and hand them over to the communities to take charge, noting that one of the aims of the initiative was to create employment opportunities for locals.
The minister explained that in the fullness of time, Government hoped these hinterland radio stations would transmit information to those residing on the coastland. Allicock pointed out that currently, persons living on the coastland were unable to tune into the radio frequencies
of the radio stations in the hinterland.
However, he noted that the feasibility of the frequency exchange would be up to technical persons to determine. Government has already commissioned two radio stations in the hinterland communities of Lethem in Region Nine and Mabaruma in Region One.
So far, Radio Lethem and Radio Mabaruma are being transmitted through the State-owned National Communications Network (NCN).
It is Government’s hopes to train a corps of broadcasters who would be able to produce
their own programmes.
