Latest update February 10th, 2025 7:48 AM
Toll charges by Berbice Bridge Company Inc. …Redirecting marine traffic to retractor span unconstitutional- Ramjattan
Alliance For Change Chairman, Khemraj Ramjattan, has described as unconstitutional, moves by
Khemraj Ramjattan
the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. to redirect marine traffic from crossing under the structure’s high span to the retractor span for a fee.
Ramjattan is convinced that the bridge management implemented this new order to increase revenue by extracting monies from boat operators, who would have otherwise utilized the Berbice River without a fee.
Several weeks ago, boat operators complained that the bridge management imposed an order that laden vessels, which cross under the high span free of cost, must desist from doing so. Instead, they must now cross whenever there is a retraction. And there is a fee attached.
Vessels with foreign registration are charged $55,000 for in-bound pass and another $55,000 for out-bound. Locally registered vessels pay a fee of $28,000 for a one-way pass.
However, according to Ramjattan, who is also an Attorney-At-Law, a perusal of the new regulation revealed that there is no provision for management to redirect river traffic from under the high span to the retractor span for the purpose of collecting a toll.
He stated that to charge persons tax, fee or toll without proper authority under a law is unconstitutional and is a deprivation of property.
“Merely administrative reconfiguration without proper authority like what the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. is doing is wrong…They cannot use security as the reason for this reconfiguration…They have no lawful authority to do that,” he noted.
Ramjattan suggested that the motive behind this scheme is to accumulate more revenue for the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. including Government, who is also an investor in the bridge.
“My opinion is they want to earn more revenues in view of the management’s high cost for running the bridge.”
Berbice River Bridge
Ramjattan noted, “Under the letter and spirit of both the Act and Regulation and Order made there is provision that small boats with certain displacements should pass free of charge under the high span.”
He emphasized that over the years small boats have been passing free of cost without hindrance from the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. authority.
The fee being paid by this new flow of traffic via the retractor span is being viewed as an indirect taxation by the Government. He pointed out that Government has investments in the bridge and the mere fact it would allow this move it therefore means Government is looking to increase their returns.
Ramjattan said that Government should not allow this. He dismissed as flimsy excuses of structure’s safety by the bridge’s management as the reason for this restriction.
“Not only is this an extra cost to boat operators it is also time consuming because the retractor span does not allow the free flow of traffic– this is done according to a schedule,” he said.
This limitation was highlighted by boat operators that transport sugar for the Guyana Sugar Corporation.
Vessels that transport bulk sugar for the Guyana Sugar Corporation from Rose Hall to the Demerara Sugar Terminal have been affected. The shipping operators have been experiencing numerous hiccups and delays.
Several factors such as tide, bridge retraction, rules and regulations governing transit time of 24 hours notice prior to transiting and heavy cancellation fees are some of the things that affect operators with this new system.
The shippers emphasized that the fee being charged is adding to their operational costs which would lead to them charging their customers more. This could affect the already financially challenged state-owned sugar company.
“The turn-around time in between shipments will be much longer and will obviously affect the estate grinding or storage capacity and this will no doubt have serious consequences for oceangoing vessels,” they said.
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