The toll rate continues to be oppressive on the people who use the bridge because the coalition reduced the toll by a minuscule amount which was not passed on to the passengers. 

The minimal reduction by the government is simply a gimmick.

Also, if a substantial reduction is achieved, the costs will eventually be covered by the government.

It is all political spin by the coalition. All the talk when they were in opposition. Motion in parliament to reduce the toll by half. Well, he is president what do we get? Lots of noise and little action on this issue.

The government do not make decisions for the company.

Berbice Bridge toll standoff… Samad slams BBCI for holding Berbicians to ransom — urges govt to use NIS shares as bargaining chip

By Tajeram Mohabir, September 3, 2015, Source

Amid the standoff between the Government and the Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated (BBCI) over the reduction of the tolls to cross the river bridge, former Director of the University of Guyana (UG) Berbice Campus Professor Daizal Samad said the company should not continue to impose a burden on Berbicians, especially the ordinary commuters. He also strongly suggested that Government use the National Insurance Scheme’s (NIS) shares in the bridge as a bargaining chip to get the company to reduce its tolls. Weeks after the announcement of a toll reduction to cross the Berbice Bridge, a moved warmly welcomed by commuters and entrepreneurs, the company appears noncommittal. But Samad is urging the Government to examine the possibility of using the NIS shares in the bridge as a bargaining chip to get the bridge company to reduce its toll, which will be subsidised by the administration.

The BBCI has asked the Administration to adhere to the legally-binding concession agreement it has with the Government, which outlines the toll formula in which the fees for commuter crossings should be adjusted periodically. But Finance Minister Winston Jordan in a statement had said that there appears to be other forces who want to use the Government as a compensatory mechanism for a faulty investment model of the Berbice Bridge.

While the Government has imposed a $300 reduction in toll to cross the bridge, it recently learnt that the BBCI was seeking a 55 per cent increase in tolls “on an already suffering population”.

Such an unreasonable charge, Jordan said will not be countenanced by the Government. The concession agreement was struck under the former Administration; the bridge company had also made a request for a 55 per cent toll increase to the then government but to no avail.

Professor Clive Thomas in another sector of the media has described some aspects of the agreement is “outrageous” and “unconscionable”.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle on Monday, Professor Samad said the taxpayers are the sustainers of NIS, and the Government as their representative, should begin to look at ways to protect their interest.

Government had announced that the toll to cross the bridge would be reduced from $2200, to $1900, and the cost of the reduction will be subsidised through subventions.

But the BBCI has claimed that it cannot reduce the toll without consulting shareholders, contending that any reduction could steer the company into a state of bankruptcy.

Professor Samad told the Guyana Chronicle that the claim of bankruptcy by the bridge company is far from truth since it will not be losing any money in the reduction of the toll because Government will be footing the cost.

The argument used by the BBCI, he said is frivolous, and it is time the Government step in to bring much need relief to residents of the Ancient County.

He said while a $300 reduction would not appear to be a lot, any reduction in the toll will be significant to Berbicians, since that bridge plays a vital role in influencing the costs of goods leaving that county.

The price commuters pay to cross the bridge with their produce he said impacts the price they charge, as they would have to absorbed the toll cost and make a profit.

Samad said with a reduction in toll, the prices for goods, especially agricultural produce are expected to go down.

He suggested that the government in the near future should look to reduce the cost to cross the bridge by at least $1000, noting that such a move will not only make it affordable for persons to enter and leave the county, but will catalyse a significant reduction in the prices of food and other goods.

According to him, it will be more prudent for the Government to increase the toll on big businesses and for certain events so as to recoup the money lost from a $1000 reduction in toll.

By Tajeram Mohabir

If the directorship is flawed, what is he doing about it?  Fire more coolies?

LOL! Just a big fat LOL!