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Berbice bridge toll rejection…Government has chosen the investors over the people of Guyana – Harmon
“The Peoples Progressive Party [PPP] should be ashamed that after such a long time the Berbice Bridge remains an albatross around the necks of Berbicians and people who have to use that Bridge and still they have not seen it fit to reduce this toll after the cry of Berbicians.”
These assertions were made by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Executive and Shadow Minister of Public Works and Transportation Joseph Harmon in response to the recent comment by General Secretary of the PPP Clement Rohee that the Opposition will chase away investors with their demand to reduce the Bridge tolls.
APNU Shadow Minister for Public Works and Transportation Joseph Harmon
Harmon said Government has chosen “… the investors against the people of Guyana and that is the choice which they have made and that is not our choice. We have looked at the situation, we have listened to the cries of the people, the Berbice Chamber of Commerce also asked about it.”
According to Harmon the Government is now trying to save face. “Investors would know that this is something that can be adjusted, the investors know that but what happened is that the Government under former President Bharrat Jagdeo passed an Act in Parliament (the Berbice Bridge Act).”
This Act according to Harmon “elevated the concession agreement to the level of a Government contract. So in other words it’s now binding the Government by what they have done there. They have given 21 years of concessions on all sorts of things. In addition to that no taxes are to be paid by the investors and no taxes on the interest. So what you have are concessions all the way to the bank.”
He continued that “now a Minister of Government Mr. Irfan Ali is saying that we don’t even have a director… we have no representation on the board, now how could that be when you put all of your money in there and the Government now decides that there is no need for Government representation and decide that they are going to forgo the payment of your money that is in there.”
It was pointed out during the recent debate on the reduction of the River Bridge toll in Parliament that NICIL had sold its 950 million shares in the company to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS).
In fact, NICIL retains only one single share in the company and has no directors on the board whilst NIS only has a single director.
The single largest shareholder behind the NIS is Former President Bharrat Jagdeo’s best friend, Dr Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop through the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation and Queens Atlantic Investment Inc.
He has two directors on the eight member board, namely Avalon Jagnandan and Ravi Ramcharitar.
Ali had argued that “The Government has no direct ownership stake in company”.
“So they will say that look we are going to give to some people who have a little more interest and so on and who we want to fix up, we are going to give them a greater set of the money up front. So very early and quickly they make back their money while we have to wait” Harmon outlined.
He continued that the lifespan of the Bridge is 30 years, but the concession is 21 years “so by the time the Bridge is transferred back; it will only have 9 years left when, repairs, renovation and maintenance has to take place.”
“What kind of arrangement is that? for 21 years the good useful life of the Bridge… the maintenance level will be very low but when the Bridge gets old and at its last that is when the people will get it, and that’s when maintenance will go up and therefore any profit will have to go into maintenance and for the cost to then go down it will have to be subsidized” said Harmon.
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.”
According to Harmon he “told Minister Benn in the National Assembly that if President Donald Ramotar does not replace him (Benn) with somebody who will respond to the dictates of the National Assembly, the people will do so and he will be out of there and then we will put a Minister who could address the concerns of the people and reduce the toll.”
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