Kara Kara toll standoff deepens

Sep 12, 2026 News

…Mayor vows to exhaust all options as town clerk refuses reopening order

(Kaieteur News) – The Linden Town Council (LTC) has found itself in the centre of a revolving controversy regarding the Kara Kara Road toll. This time, the council is faced with defiance by its town clerk, Lennox Gasper to carry out its instructions to reopen the toll station and resume the toll collection from those travelling the route.

Linden Town Clerk, Lennox Gasper

Linden Mayor, Dominique Blair told Kaieteur News on Friday that the municipality is now looking to exhaust all options to remedy the situation.

“This is an ongoing issue between the council and the town clerk, who has been defiant in the face of council’s instructions. We have even written the Local Government Commission as well as the minister about the clerk’s behaviour since it is the commission that hires, fires and disciplines local government staffers. However, there has been no real action taken against him. The government is obviously quite ok with that but it is the Lindeners who are suffering. The council’s decision comes from the people through the elected representatives.”

“As a council, we do not operate on our own void of consulting the residents as their elected representatives. Therefore, we will be exhausting all measures including legal recourse to remedy the situation,” Blair added.

On Thursday, the LTC announced a reopening of the Kara Kara Toll Station and the resumption of the collection of fees.

Mayor Blair issued the directive on behalf of the council, that the Kara Kara Toll Station be reopened with immediate effect and that toll collection resumes under the existing gazetted rates.

Mayor of Linden, Dominique Blair

In a letter formally written to the town clerk, Blair emphasised the council’s position that the cessation of toll collection and the purported revocation of the Linden Town Council (Toll) By-Laws 2016 by the minister were not carried out in accordance with the proper statutory process.

“The 2016 By-Laws were duly made, approved and gazetted. The Council has not passed any resolution repealing or discontinuing those by-laws, nor has it brought the matter before the council for such a decision.”

As such, the mayor’s letter outlined that the council did not accept the unilateral revocation as lawfully effected and considered the existing by-laws remain the basis on which the toll should operate unless and until they are lawfully amended or repealed.

According to Blair, the council views the toll rates as a separate matter. “The council and government are currently discussing the rates and proposed changes. Those discussions should continue separately and should not result in the closure of the toll or the suspension of the council’s revenue,” the mayor posited in his letter.

Accordingly, he directed the town clerk, on behalf of the council, to take all necessary administrative steps to reopen the Kara Kara Toll Station with immediate effect and resume collection at the existing gazetted rates pending the conclusion of discussions with government on the rates.

“Please ensure that the necessary arrangements are made for the immediate resumption of operations and that council is advised accordingly. This directive is issued pursuant to the position and decision of the Linden Town Council and is without prejudice to the council’s position regarding the legality of the minister’s purported revocation,” the mayor said in the letter which was also copied to Minister of Local Government, Priya Manickchand.

Last Friday, senior government officials met with the mayor and other council reps to address concerns over the cost of doing business in Linden and the council’s financial operations.

However, the discussion took a turn with the government demanding greater financial accountability from the council and the administration proposing a cut of the toll charges by 50%.

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Dominique Blair, Kara Kara, toll standoff

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