Colombia. A strong scandal faces the National Television Authority, ANTV, on account of a lawsuit that the same Board established against the Television Law that created it, seeking to have budgetary autonomy that the previous entity had and was taken away due to the corruption problems that were presented.
The problem, according to the revelations of local media, is that the lawsuit included a point in which it seeks to remove the Minister of Tics from the Board, he is one of the five members that compose it.
One of the first to declare himself surprised with this issue was the Minister of Tics, Diego Molano, because he was not aware that his colleagues wanted to remove him from the Board. Therefore, today many wonder what is happening in the ANTV?, did the new entity inherit the vices and problems of its predecessor?
When asked about this issue, the ANTV Board issued a statement assuring that this point of the lawsuit was an overreach of the lawyer who was hired for the case, Germán Rodríguez Villamizar. But revelations from the radio station La W, tell that in December all the commissioners had in their hands the text of the lawsuit before it was presented, then they approved it as it was presented or did not read it.
The indignation with this situation is greater, if one takes into account that Colombia is currently one of the countries in the region most delayed in the adoption of digital television and that the third television channel has not been able to go out to tender because an investment bank has not been found to take care of its financial viability.
It adds to the picture that the Board has never been able to meet in full with its five members. When the representative of civil society on the Board was finally elected, the government representative resigned and today his replacement is not known.
This case could cost the head of one of the commissioners, unfortunately, one of the most judicious and who has always given the face for everything that has to do with the ANTV. Much has been rumored in recent days of the resignation of Alfredo Sabbagh (photo), who said he is considering it due to his health problems.
It should be remembered that last April 2012 was a historic month for television in Colombia, as it marked the change in the regulation of television with the elimination of the National Television Commission, after many corruption and politicking scandals.
In its replacement, the National Television Authority was created, an entity with fewer functions than the previous one and without autonomy for the management of its budget, which must now go through the Ministry of Finance of Colombia. In this way it was sought to ensure that the Board would be dedicated to its natural function, the regulation of television, and money management problems would be avoided.
