By Rabindra Rooplall

THE Berbice Bridge Company Inc. (BBCI) has not yet signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) which proposes a toll reduction to traverse that facility, although government had anticipated that such would have been done by December 1, 2015.According to Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, a copy of the agreement had been sent to the BCCI early in November, and another had been sent on November 30, 2015, but the position remains unchanged.

This publication tried on multiple occasions to garner comment from BCCI Chief Executive Officer Omadat Samaroo, but he has always been either not in office or unavailable for comment.

Management of the BBCI had, in October, indicated that a proposal to the coalition government had been submitted, accepting its proposed $40M subvention towards reduction of the tolls.

Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson, said a proposal had indeed been sent by the company, indicating its willingness to accept the subvention being offered by the government, and that the document had been reviewed by Cabinet.

“The agreement was prepared and sent to the BBCI’s lawyers for them to review, and once they review and concur therein, we will just sign onto it and make the funds available…. We are giving them some time; hopefully, before the week is out, we may have a reply,” Minister Ferguson explained.

Minister Patterson had noted, “Both parties have agreed to lower the tolls, but it is just the mechanism to get it in place…and is in the form of the agreement which we expect will be signed very soon.”

The BBCI had first rejected the government’s offer of financial support on the premise that its shareholders had not been consulted on the matter; and in an effort to relieve the travelling public from the burden of high tolls, government had implemented river taxis, operating on the Berbice River at a subsidised cost.

Government’s efforts to reduce the Berbice Bridge toll is part of its effort to alleviate the burden of high fares for the more than 150,000 Guyanese who live within Regions Five and Six, who traverse the bridge to access education and health services, conduct business, and travel on a daily basis.
Finance Minister Winston Jordan had, on August 10, announced that from September 1st, the toll for passenger cars and buses crossing the Berbice River Bridge would have been reduced by $300 — from $2,200 to $1,900; while the toll for all other types of vehicles would have been reduced by 10 percent. This reduction was intended to fulfil an elections campaign promise made by the APNU+AFC coalition.