MINISTER of Finance Winston Jordan has ruled the request of the Berbice Bridge Company Inc. (BBCI) through the Private Sector Commission (PSC) to participate in a meeting concerning bridge toll increases as “premature.”

In a letter dated October 29, 2018, the bridge company stated that efforts had been made to secure a meeting with the minister ; those efforts were, however, futile.

“It would be of great interest to the public to know that BBCI asked the Private Sector Commission to use its good offices to arrange an urgent meeting with the Minister of Finance on the matter of the toll adjustment; and that the Minister of Finance has refused to entertain the request,” the letter stated.

In a response on Wednesday, Jordan told the media: “I got a letter from the Private Sector Commission asking for a meeting; I sent a response indicating that the request was premature; that the matter was being handled by the Attorney-General’s Chambers.”

Since the revelation of the BBCI’s proposal to increase the bridge tolls, Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson had stated that the government would be seeking legal advice from the Attorney-General’s Chambers in moving forward.

Whether Jordan’s response was relayed to the bridge company prior to their construction of the letter is unknown; and as such, the minister commented:
“If they didn’t communicate this to whoever or their principals or their representatives, I can’t be blamed for it.”