US Congresswoman Betty McCollum will introduce for a second time before Congress a bill to eliminate the budget for the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which operates Martí radio and TV stations.
In a statement, McCollum said both stations, illegal according to the Cuban government, are “obsolete instruments of the Cold War” and an outdated method in the new context created from the announcement of the restoration of relations between the US and Cuba.
The Democratic lawmaker from the state of Minnesota believes that the taxpayers of the country “should not be funding propaganda broadcasting. Instead, it should facilitate efforts for Americans to engage directly with the Cubans, “she said.
The proposal of McCollum makes more sense after it was made public the suspension last April, of flights of Aero Martí, a broadcasting-to-Cuba platform of radio and television whose ineffectiveness and high cost were the center of much controversy within of the Miami community and the government of the northern nation.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) a division of the Department of State for emissions publicly funded throughout the world had its eye on both stations by low cost-benefit involved. In late 2013, the BBG insisted on closing the projects due to rising fuel prices and taxes in respect of leasing the hangar for aircraft, estimated at $ 80,000 annually. However, this did not happen.
However, the misfortune of Radio and TV Martí increased in 2014, when it was disclosed a report to the Inspector General of the Board of Cuba Broadcasting. The document revealed “low morale” within the plant personnel, lack of transparency in decision-making and corruption in the management of diets and other resources allocated by the government.
In presenting her proposal to the Capitol, the lawmaker said that in the last three decades stations have spent over 770 million dollars. Each year, the US government provides thirty two million and in 2014, its activities were covered with nearly 27 million.
However, contrary to the intention of cutting costs and budgets for Radio and TV Martí, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB) the US government signed over 100 contracts worth almost a million dollars for their transmissions to Island since last December 17, when the government announced that both sides begin to renew diplomatic ties.
Radio Martí, created in 1983 and TV Martí, opened in 1990, broadcast programming in Spanish from Miami to Cuba. However, its scope is very limited, due to the constant interference by the Cuban side and expanding network of local radio stations on the island.
If TV Radio Marti has not been very effective then why is Raul Castro demanding that it be closed down? Think about that one……