While in opposition, the AFC had heavily lobbied for the reintroduction of a ferry service across the Berbice River that would provide an affordable alternative to the bridge crossing, however, the party’s General Secretary and the Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson says that moving forward will depend on the rehabilitation of stellings.
Responding to a question, Patterson recently told Stabroek News that the Alliance For Change (AFC) will be lobbying the government that it is a key part of for the reintroduction of the ferry service simultaneously as the government continues negotiations with the Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated (BBCI) to lower fares at the crossing.
The Minister had told this newspaper that he would not be able to give a time frame nor could he say whether a ferry service would be reintroduced until the cost of stelling rehabilitation was looked at. He emphasised that across Guyana the decay of wharves and stellings was well known and funding would need to be prioritised. The ministry has budgeted for 2015 $370M for the reconditioning of the MB Sandaka as well as the MV Barima and MV Kimbia. However under the capital expenditure for the year, there were no provisions made from the $50M budgeted to repair the Berbice River stelling at Rosignol, West Berbice or at New Amsterdam.
Patterson acknowledged that the party had been very staunch in its earlier calls for the reintroduction of the service which would especially benefit school children, but stated that now in government there were numerous factors that needed to be looked into on a more in-depth basis prior to any commitments being made for the remainder of the year.
Region Six APNU+AFC Member of Parliament, Charrandas Persaud told Stabroek News that Berbicians continue to look for alternative methods of transportation across the river that would be more affordable than that of the Berbice Bridge.
Persaud had told Stabroek News that as an MP he was looking to bring to the National Assembly the issues faced by his constituency. He said that for far too long Berbicians felt neglected by the government.
He said under the PPP/C administration Berbicians were left with false promises even though the region had been a party stronghold. He said that he did not want Berbicians to feel that under the new administration they would be punished for not supporting the APNU+AFC Coalition at the May 11th general elections.
Persaud said that it made practical sense for there to be a ferry service at the crossing as it was more cost effective. He noted that anything that increased the movement of people along with their goods and services was positive for growth and integration.
In 2011 a pontoon service operated from the Rosignol Ferry Stelling, using MB Sandaka. It was pulled after the pontoon crashed into the bridge resulting in repairs having to be done to the bridge.
In November of last year countless persons were stranded for hours due to a malfunction on the Berbice Bridge. With no other alternatives for crossing the river persons had to wait it out. Since the closure of the alternatives to crossing the bridge critics have pointed out how dangerous this is for emergency situations.
In his budget speech on August 10 this year, Finance Minister Winston Jordan had announced that from September 1st, the toll for passenger cars and buses crossing the Berbice River Bridge would be reduced by $300, from $2,200 to $1.900, while the toll for all other types of vehicles would be reduced by 10 percent. The planned reduction is intended to fulfil an elections campaign promise made by the APNU+AFC coalition.
On Saturday, the BBCI, which runs the bridge, in a statement warned that it could face potential bankruptcy if proposed subsidies are not calculated based on higher tolls that it had been trying to have implemented.
Responding to Jordan’s statement that the company was engaging in “delaying manoeuvres” to stall the planned reduction in tolls, the company held firm that any government subsidy must be based on the increased tolls that were proposed to the former PPP/C administration and as contained in the toll schedule in the Concession Agreement between it and the government.
In a strongly-worded statement, the company disclosed that revenues of over $1.2 billion had already been lost because tolls had not been increased under the Concession Agreement.
