— Linden chamber president tells Town Council

By Vanessa Braithwaite
PRESIDENT of the Linden Chamber of Industry, Commerce and Development, Kevin De Young, on Wednesday called on the Linden Town Council to be more inclusive in its decision-making.
Speaking at a consultation with stakeholders and the council on Wednesday, De Young made reference to the Kara Kara toll booth and the rates governing its operations, pointing out that businesspersons have complained.

He said some have complained that the rates are too high, and on that note, he suggested that decisions should not be made with one or two entities working in isolation, but the council should fully engage more entities, including the Linden Chamber of Industry, Commerce and Development.
“The Linden Mayor and Town Council must fully engage us so that when we are moving forward, we are moving forward with one view and one voice… all entities need to work together, need to network, decision-making should be done collectively,” De Young affirmed.
He expressed fear that some of the rates in the by-laws that were recently gazetted by Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan may scare away investors from Linden rather that encourage them.
“I believe we should have an enabling environment to bring business to Linden. What we don’t want is people to think it is a burden to invest in Linden.”
The chamber president argued that every detail had not been considered during the decision-making process, pointing out that often the “small man” faces the heat.
He reasoned that businessmen journeying from other regions to sell their goods in Linden will increase the prices of their goods after being subjected to pay a toll and the “small man” will be affected by price increases for greens, vegetables and dry goods, among others.
POORLY ADVERTISED
Though the Linden Mayor and Town Council held consultations before sending off recommendations to the ministry for the by-laws to be gazetted, De Young argued that those consultations were poorly advertised and therefore poorly attended; and so the majority of representatives from the private sector and business community were not present to be a part of the decision-making process.
“We have not been able to conquer working together,” he said.
Mayor of Linden Carwyn Holland in responding to the concerns, posited that efforts were made to consult the public and other entities and the new rates almost mirror the rates that governed the previous operations of the toll booth. He revealed that only three rates were changed and those rates were lowered to accommodate the rise in the cost of living. In the previous operations, Linden businesses, especially loggers, were liable to pay tolls but were given concessions.
However, under this new operation, Linden-registered businesses will pay only a biennial fee. Though this decision was met with some objections from local loggers, Mayor Holland opined that it would be backward if Linden businesses should not pay anything at all, as the money would be used to develop the very community in which they are living.
In addition, he revealed that the toll booth operations will be reviewed every six months and necessary changes will be made.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Stakeholders at the consultation made several recommendations which include the repackaging of the station from that of a toll station to a revenue-collecting point, as it is the council’s duty to collect revenue.
Some persons also suggested that the operations fully mirror that of the previous by-laws as to alleviate confusion and disagreements.
It was also recommended that consultation be held with the Linden Loggers’ Associations as loggers are arguing that they were not involved in the decision -making process.
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 a month or more than $36M annually.
This revenue will greatly assist the cash-strapped council in garbage collection, paying workers and clearing its $200 M debt owed the National Insurance Scheme, the Guyana Power and Light company and other entities.
The Kara Kara toll station was disbanded in 2013 by former Local Government Minister 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 Bai Shan Lin. As a result of this subsidised operation, the council lost some $250M in revenue, former IMC Chairman Orin Gordon said.