MR SPEAKER, I rise on this Independence Day to speak on a matter close to my pocket, the $40.5 million in taxpayers’ money dis House approve for CBC.
Sir, I know dat that millions of taxpayers’ dollars have been given to dat place over many decades and dat de Honourable Finance Minister and de Honourable PM sincere in wanting CBC to be a national broadcaster of repute and not disrepute.
 Sir, back in ’63 when um started, de Vendor was gine to school and CBC was by de Lazaretto in Black Rock where de lepers used to be and a few years later Government build premises in de Pine. Sir, wunnah shoulda left it down by de lepers ’cause, just like dah disease, CBC gine tek long to find a cure! Dis 47-year-old baby still looking to suck milk from de mother breast!Â
Look at de stats, Sir! In 47 years CBC had de following GMs: Watson, Vance, Forde, Gale, Gill, Clarke, Best, Franklyn, Turney, Cummings, Taitt, Smith, Leacock, Soderstrom. Right now dem looking fuh de next victim!
The average survival rate up there fuh a GM is three years! By comparison, after 75 years Starcom only had 3 GMs! CBC had more GMs than Liz Taylor had husbands! In de ’90s, sir, de las’ Government vote over $20 Million to do exactly what wunnah now doing again! That wasn’t de first time neither!
It is a national disgrace and an embarrassment to de ministers that got to clean up de doo-doo! Imagine you got 47 years of a monopoly and you can’t even buy gas but you passing gas and stinking out de place! Sir, in dey lifetime CBC get close to $100 million from taxpayers! Is it true, Sir, that most ah dah borrowed money gine to repay bills? ’Bout $30 million to pay de NIS and VAT? Sir, how yuh does borrow money from yuhself to pay yuhself?
I agree wid de Honourable PM dat dis is not de time to privatize CBC! Dis is de time to shut it down; de staff will find wuk in de private sector! Dem can’t even be up to date wid Days Of Our Lives; like everything else, dem ’bout 20 years behind and Starcom cutting duh backside survey after survey. Why yuh don’t invest some of dem taxpayers’ dollars wid OCM group? At least yuh would see a return pun de investment!
MCTV get start to fund de public service broadcasting. Wha’ happen, Sir? Which private sector company could owe de VAT and NIS nearly $30 Million and nobody in Dodds? Which public company don’t have up-to-date audited financial statements? When yuh insolvent yuh supposed to close down, not continue trading. Isn’t dat illegal?
That nice CBC lady, Jewel Forde, mount a defence in Sunday paper but de argument weak. She ask if we think Olympics, World Cup football, cricket, international pageants, calypso finals and other major events would be seen, whether sponsored or unsponsored, if private enterprise was allowed to purchase CBC?
I got news fuh Jewel. Check Trinidad and Jamaica. The aforementioned projects are part of their annual broadcast schedules. The difference is that them done sell next year’s Olympics and planning to sell 2014 World Cup while CBC will carry it sponsored or not because yuh know yuh got de public purse to fall back pun!
As fuh Public Service Broadcasting, PSB, in CBC case that spells Propaganda Service Broadcasting! Sir, a fairly garrulous CBC fella who should not be allowed to read news, during de Gulf War of the early 90s referred to the Persian Gulf as de “Perishing Gulf”! He might yet be right. CBC need to be sent there, in a hurry!
Happy Independence.
I, Market Vendor, gone fuh now. You have a blessed and a wonderful day, yuh hear?
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