Berbice Bridge toll reduction… Opposition will chase away investors … says Rohee

May 20, 2014 News

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“The action of the opposition with regard to the Berbice River Bridge is political and intended to chase away investors. Without such partnerships the bridge would not have been realized in the first place.”

This is the contention of General Secretary (GS) of the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP), Clement Rohee, who during his weekly press briefing at Freedom House, posited that “the attempts by the opposition to impose itself on the Berbice River Bridge will have a negative impact on investors’ confidence and their willingness to conduct business in this country.
“This action by the opposition is a direct intrusion on a private investment in an attempt to scare the investors off.”
Rohee said that the Berbice River Bridge is a government/private sector, international investors’ project with specific arrangements which were agreed upon. This arrangement, he said, is not unique to Guyana and is a norm to many other countries.
Rohee contended that the action of the opposition is “déjà vu” for Guyanese.
“When the opposition formed the dictatorial government for almost three decades, during their reign of terror in government, investors were forced out.
“Today under the guise of a new name the opposition finds it challenging to curb its propensity to deprive Guyanese of benefits through development.”
Speaking to the structure undertaken to build the bridge Rohee said, “Our own resources would not have been adequate to meet the demands for development; as such these Public Private sector Partnerships became critical and crucial to help deliver the services our people are entitled to.”
According to Rohee, without investors “jobs would be lost and the economy would contract. All Guyanese would stand to lose. We believe that Guyanese, especially Berbicians, are aware of the circumstances regarding the fare structure of the Berbice Bridge, but are also equally aware of the tremendous transformation through time saving travel which the bridge has facilitated.”
He said the fare structure is no different for a family crossing in a vehicle when they used the ferries.
Rohee said that the investors themselves must have looked at the levels “of poverty, the level of affordability, a reasonable rate of return on their financial and economic investments and came up with a number or figure which in their view should be considered reasonable.”
“I am positive that if they had calculated a rate that was much lower than what it is today, they would have reduced it, I don’t see the Berbice River Company and the group of people who invested as a group of tyrants who just invested to rip off Guyanese, to get as much as they could as fast as they could off this bridge” said Rohee.
“They came forward with their financial resources to invest; they didn’t have to.”
The PPP reportedly forced a reduced toll for its 2013 congress in Berbice. Asked about this, Rohee said “that’s a highly inaccurate, irresponsible and wild statement aimed at creating mischief and at misleading people. Let them provide the evidence that it was indeed so.”
“This thing about the Berbice River Bridge for the opposition, and to a large extent the Kaieteur News is political. It’s clear that it’s to put Berbicians against the PPP… to put the PPP as a heartless bunch of ogres… that we don’t care about Berbicians’ and therefore we are not what we profess to be.”
When pressed if the PPP did seek a waiver of the bridge toll for a PPP congress that was held there he said, “I can’t recall that.”
When pressed further, he said that he is exercising his options to not respond. “As the Chairman of the congress committee and the General Secretary of the party I do not recall and I am being honest.”
When asked about the 12 percent rate of return that the investors are receiving contrasted against Guyana’s poor economy and the investors getting a higher rate of return than any other investment that could be undertaken locally, Rohee said that he doesn’t give much “credence to the economic and financial argument, I give more credence to the political argument.”
The opposition coalition APNU recently brought a resolution to the National Assembly seeking to reduce the toll of the Bridge which they said commuters (especially Berbicians) had complained as being very costly to travel.
The resolution was passed in the National Assembly but was rejected by the PPP led Government who through its Minister for Public works and Transportation Robeson Benn said that “I will not reduce the toll for any person in Guyana until we have determined economically that it will be a benefit.”

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