The Minister of Information, a portfolio currently held by Head of State Bharrat Jagdeo, is responsible for the issuance of licence, according to the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU). As such, calls to the entity to query when Norman Chapman and Mortimer Yearwood of Linden would be granted a licence were deferred to Office of the President.The call to the NFMU was received by its Finance Manager, Shaneeza St Aubyn, who told this newspaper that the NFMU would only issue a licence after it is authorised by the Minister of Information.Managing Director of the NFMU,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, Valmiki Singh, recently alluded to this fact, saying that the NFMU was only consulted with in the process.Chief Justice (ag) Ian Chang, recently ruled in the Supreme Court that the rights of citizens under Article 146 of the Constitution cannot be abridged based on an agreement made between Jagdeo and the Leader of the Opposition,Wholesale Jerseys From China, Robert Corbin.The two, in a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2003, had agreed that no new licence would be granted unless broadcast legislation is enacted.Lindeners Norman Chapman and Mortimer Yearwood had moved to the High Court, prior to the 2006 general elections, claiming that their fundamental rights were being breached by their not being able to have radio or TV broadcasts other than from state-owned radio and TV.Yearwood had applied to the NFMU for a TV and a radio licence because of the obvious need in Linden for an extension in electronic media services.However,Authentic Jerseys From China, in response to his application, the Managing Director of the NFMU, Valmiki Singh,Cheap Jerseys From China, informed him that his application would be placed on file and would come up for consideration at such point as sufficient progress had been made with respect to the enactment of broadcast legislation and in the area of the reform and modernisation of the telecommunications sector.Presidential Advisor to the President, Dr Prem Misir, had recently said that it was the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) that issues licences subject to the parameters.According to Justice Chang’s ruling, the court understands the applicants to be saying that they were being discriminated against by the government on the basis of their place of origin in that the government licensed or permitted only the government controlled National Communications Network (NCN) to operate a television broadcasting network in Region Ten while other regions of the country were benefiting from the operations of other broadcasting networks which were not under government control.“Not only was there no constitutional duty on the government to enable anyone,China Jerseys Cheap, or more particularly the residents of Region Ten, to access ideas and information from any television network (in contradistinction to not hindering anyone from so doing), but, more significantly, there is no evidence that Region Ten was similarly circumstanced as other Regions where there were television networks other than the National Communications Network (NCN) operating,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys,” Justice Change contended.The judgment also stated that there is no evidence that the government had licensed or permitted any television network to operate in any other region after refusing the very same television network or any other network licence or permission to operate in Region Ten.According to Justice Chang’s judgment, there is no true comparator to enable the court to find discrimination by the government against the residents of Region Ten on the basis of place of origin.“Indeed, according to the evidence, some regions, such as Region Four, had more than one broadcasting network operating therein while others have absolutely none…The claim for declaration by the applicants (Norman Chapman and Mortimer Yearwood) as residents of Region Ten that they were being discriminated against by the government on the basis of place of origin is unsupported by the evidence and must be refused.”
