Even as he stressed that the PPP does not support a Berbice Bridge toll increase, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday said that the government should pay the differential on the proposed higher tariffs or buy more shares in the beleaguered Berbice Bridge Company (BBCI).
“People in Berbice cannot pay that large increase so the government has two options,” Jagdeo told a press conference. He made that statement despite the fact that the agreement to permit phased increases in tariffs for bridge users was crafted under his administration.
“Buy out the other shareholders, buy out people so that more of the bridge becomes publicly owned or subsidise the increase that should take place in the toll. So they give an injection into the company so that the rate remains flat. They should do this and it would not cost them much. They waste money on a daily basis than if they were to do that,” he added.
