… says matter before court, gov’t unwilling to discuss future sale

SINCE the management of the Berbice River Bridge took the matter regarding proposed increase in rates to the court in November 2018, the authorities are unwilling to discuss any future sale of the facility.

At the same time, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson noted on Thursday that while the management of the bridge refused an offer of $120M from the government to carry out repairs to pontoons supporting the bridge, the structure has seen no repairs since 2008.

He said too that the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. (BCCI) “has an unwavering focus – maximisation of financial returns for its shareholders at the expense of the citizens of Guyana.”

On Thursday, the BBCI said it is “extremely disappointed in the government’s refusal to now meet and present a fair and reasonable offer to purchase the ownership of the bridge” and it noted that this was against the backdrop of Minister Patterson’s previous public statement on the matter. The company said that it has always been the understanding of the BBCI “that it is in the public interest and best business practice for parties delivering a public service who are in dispute to sit down together to seek an amicable resolution to their differences rather than proceed to litigation where there can only be one winner and one loser.”

BBCI RATE PROPOSAL
In 2018, the BBCI announced that it planned to increase fares and in October that year, it published the proposed rates which it said would take effect from November 12, 2018. The sums appeared high for the average road user and Patterson said in July that year when the proposal was first floated by the BBCI, that the proposal was “burdensome” to commuters. “We will ensure that no further hardship from the bridge is passed on to the folks or the citizens of Berbice,” he said at the time.

The fares proposed by the BBCI included fees for cars (G$8,040), pickups (G$14,600), 4WD (G$14,600) and minibuses (G$8,040) among other high rates per trip. On Thursday Patterson fired back at the BCCI’s statement, when he noted that the matter of the APNU+AFC government protecting citizens from the “unconscionable” rates of the BBCI, is in the court, where that company placed it.

Patterson said that while the BCCI is “disappointed” in the government’s stance, what that company has not addressed is the fact that nine months after the government made the sum of G$120M available for the repairs of at least six of the pontoons that support the bridge, the company refused to allow the authorities to proceed with the repairs.
Patterson said that the “good citizens of Regions Five & Six should be aware that the pontoons supporting this bridge have been in the river since at least 2008,” although the recommended maintenance period is every three years.
He said that there are 39 pontoons supporting the bridge, and a simple calculation would reveal that if repairs are effected at six per year, it would take almost seven years to repair all the pontoons. “Yes there is a possibility of some pontoons being in the river for 18 years without repairs,” Patterson said.

DHB DREAM TEAM
Minister Patterson and the management of the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) recently received high praises for the efficiency with which that bridge was repaired earlier this week, days after a tug and barge slammed into the structure.

Patterson noted on Thursday that the events at DHB demonstrated the effects that can result if a main artery such as a bridge linking two regions becomes inaccessible.
He said fortunately for the country, DHB has a “dream team of management and technical support staff” and he noted that they were able to minimise the impact of the accident.
On the contrary, Patterson said the BBCI has no such team, adding that they have yet to even present an emergency plan in the case of an accident. He reiterated that indeed he declined to meet with the BBCI to discuss “a possible sale”, since, according to him, government’s priorities are “very different.”

He said that as the Minister of Public Infrastructure, he remains “laser focused” on the safe and affordable transit of goods and people over the Berbice River.
He said that he is willing to meet at anytime to further discuss the maintenance and repairs of the Berbice Bridge however, although he noted that the legal case is being handled by the Attorney General’s Chambers while financial matters remain under the domain of the Ministry of Finance.

“I will not be accused of fiddling while Rome burns,” Patterson said.
In November 2018, the government announced that it was taking temporary control of the bridge in the safety of the public.

BANKRUPTCY
The BBCI, which said it was facing bankruptcy as it argued its case for the steep increase in tools, subsequently filed court documents seeking the courts to reverse the decision of the government. The bridge company was launched under the Bharrat Jagdeo-led administration with the aim of providing the general public with an ease of crossing the river as opposed to ferry services. Later, what came to light was the financial structure of the company, the BBCI, in the public/private partnership agreement with the PPP-government which saw a few of Jagdeo’s close friends effectively taking control of the bridge posing as investors in the project.

The public later found out that a majority of the money invested into the project belonged to them, the public, since funds were taken by Jagdeo’s government from the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) to invest in the bridge.