Dear Editor,
The bridging of the Berbice River is one of the most invaluable projects executed for and delivered to the people of Guyana. This is one of the structures that came at a time when direct stress was placed on the general citizenship of Guyana and moreso tourists when commuting to the region. No one knows the lost time incurred with the previous model, so the opposition should keep quiet and face the reality of opportunity time.
I am hoping the opposition knows that people’s time is valuable. They should go back to basics and try to recall the stress associated with a delayed boat and a long line. Is it possible to quantify the time being wasted? To say not just that my time is valuable, but that’s US$250 of my time down the drain!
The call for a reduced tariff is not justifiable; the opposition is comparing the Demerara Harbour Bridge tariff structure which is heavily subsidized by the government, with the Berbice Bridge which is fully self reliant. If the opposition is ready to offset the tariff differences for the reduction they are calling for, then they should sign on to an MOU with the BBCI and proceed with their call; it is just politics that is emotionally driven.
It’s not too hard to see how crucial time lost is (the opposition should conduct a time and motion study on the Berbice crossing now compared with data from the ferrying model). With time reduction goes justification for increasing people’s social benefits. How much is an hour of your time worth?
The bridge has made commuting easier for farmers, construction workers and tourists, to name a few, and is very important in reducing the time taken for crossing the river when there is need to transport medical cases to the public or private hospitals.
We have to be thankful to the many investors for coming on board with this project since from an economic standpoint the bridge has translated into benefits for the people, and that is what this government is all about, giving citizens the means to develop themselves.
The opposition has its vendetta against some of the private investors in the bridge; this is not professional on its part. It is wake-up time, and the opposition should work with the government in parliament to ensure our country is not blacklisted by passing the Anti-money-laundering and Countering of Financing of Terrorism Bill ‒ this is more important at this time.
This is what the private investors did with the Berbice Bridge, since the private sector has the operating core of the country at heart. They made this investment possible so that the hardship of commuting to and from the region becomes a model to push Guyana forward, and this is what the outcome is.
Yours faithfully,
Michael H Khan
