THE long-anticipated reintroduction of the Kara Kara toll station in Linden should begin in a few weeks, according to Linden Mayor Carwyn Holland.It has been close to a month since Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan approved the by-laws governing the rates to be paid by commercial vehicles, especially lumber and container trucks plying the interior route.

Holland said the process would be carefully handled, so that the purpose of the booth would be fulfilled. “We will let the public know when we will start. The revenues garnered are only to help the township undertake much needed work, such as road repairs, garbage collection, and other community services,” Holland affirmed.

Minister Bulkan approved rates ranging from $2000 to $7000 to be paid by 18 categories of vehicles, particularly vehicles passing through the town with fuel, lumber or merchandise. With these rates, the Council will be raking in approximately $3M monthly, or more than $36M on an annual basis. This revenue will assist the cash-strapped Council in many ways, including sufficient transportation for garbage collection; paying workers’ wages; and, most importantly, paying off the almost $200 million debt owed to the National Insurance Scheme, Guyana Power and Light, and other entities.

The Council successfully lobbied the Government to increase the yearly subvention from $12M to 16M, but this seems insufficient to fulfill all the needs of the Council.

Mayor Holland has reiterated that businesses registered in Linden would only pay a biennial fee for the use of the toll, and hire cars or vehicles entering the town for every purpose other than commercial will not be subjected to paying the toll. Truck driver Trevor Hack told the Guyana Chronicle that reintroduction of the toll would mean “a little squeeze” on his and other drivers’ pockets, but he is happy that Linden would finally see development.

“Yes, I know it gon be lil hard on we, but we gotta look on the bigger picture, and that is (that) the town gon benefit, and I would do anything for Linden,” he said, in contrast to some other Linden businessmen, who are not in favour of paying the biennial fee.

The Kara Kara toll station was disbanded in 2013 by former Minister of Local Government Norman Whittaker. It was established in 1997 under the stewardship of then Mayor Stanley Smith, following an order by then Local Government Minister Clinton Collymore. According to reports, the booth was disbanded to accommodate the operations of giant lumber company Bishanlin. As a result of this subsidized operation, the Council lost close to $250M, according to former IMC chairman Orin Gordon.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, described the intentional suspension of the boot by the previous administration as an effort to stymie the progress of the town. “They never wanted you to strive, they took away all of your financial abilities to spend money to look after yourselves. You used to take fees from those large trucks passing through Linden, the heavy lumber trucks and the bauxite container trucks; and you used to get a reasonable income from that as a Town Council. Thirty-five percent of those revenues constituted your budget in this town of Linden,” said the Minister.