Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson says he is only willing to meet the management of the Berbice Bridge Company Inc (BBCI) if it is to discuss maintenance and repairs of the bridge even as he slammed the firm for refusing to allow government to undertake repairs to the key artery.
“…what that company has not addressed is why after nine months of this same government having made the sum of [$120 million] available for the repairs of at least six of the pontoons that support this bridge, that they have refused to allow us to proceed with these repairs,” Patterson wrote, in sharing on his Facebook page on Friday, an article from the online news site iNews, about him refusing to meet with the BBCI to discuss a possible sale of the bridge.
“I am willing to meet at any time to further discuss the maintenance and repairs of this bridge ONLY. The legal case is being handled by the Attorney General’s Chamber, while financial matters remain under the domain of the Ministry of Finance,” he added.
In a response to Patterson’s comments, the BBCI accused him of making misleading statements but confirmed that discussions were held and it has requested a further meeting with the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC) to continue to flesh out arrangements on how the maintenance of the Berbice Bridge would be done.
Patterson and the BBCI have been engaged in a war of words regarding the Berbice Bridge and in the latest outburst, the minister observed that issues surrounding the bridge have ended up in court.
Last year, the BBCI announced that there would be a huge increase in all tolls from November 12th, 2018. Consequently, citing a “threat to public safety” in light of the planned increase in tolls, Patterson on November 5th, 2018, assumed temporary control over the operation of the Berbice River Bridge and promised to retain the present toll structure as the ministry sought to find an amicable resolution to the dispute. There was, however, no amicable resolution and legal action followed.
In his Facebook post on Friday, Patterson highlighted that it was the BBCI that placed in court the matter of “government protecting citizens from the unconscionable rates” being set by the company. In referencing his refusing to meet with the BBCI to discuss a possible sale of the bridge since the discussions would be “under duress” due to the court matters, Patterson criticised the company for saying that they were extremely disappointed in the government.
In this light, he pointed out that the company has refused to allow the ministry to proceed with the repairs of at least six of the pontoons that support the Berbice Bridge. He added that citizens of Regions Five and Six should be aware that the pontoons supporting the bridge have been in the river since at least 2008, and have been 11 years without maintenance when the recommended period is every three years.
Given that there are 39 pontoons supporting the bridge, he said, a simple calculation would reveal that if repairs are effected at six per year, then it would take almost seven years to repair all the pontoons, which means that there is a possibility of some pontoons being in the river for 18 years without repairs.
Dream team
“The recent events at [the Demerara Harbour Bridge] demonstrated the effects that can result if a main artery such as a bridge linking two regions becomes inaccessible. Fortunately, for the country, DHB has a dream team of management and technical support staff, and they were able to minimise the impact of the accident. This company has no such team – zip, zero, nothing. They have yet to even present an emergency plan in the case of an accident,” Patterson wrote.
He added that it is correct that he declined to meet with the BBCI to discuss a possible sale since their priorities are very different.
He added that as minister, he remains focused on the safe and affordable transit of goods and people over the Berbice River. According to Patterson, it appears that the company has an unwavering focus on maximisation of financial returns for its shareholders at the expense of Guyanese.
In its response, the BBCI accused Patterson of misleading the public with regard to the operation and maintenance of the Berbice Bridge. According to the company, the statement that the BBCI refused to allow the ministry to proceed with repairs to the bridge is “absolutely false.”
The statement recounted the various exchanges between the ministry and the BBCI and observed that in February this year, the DHBC’s General Manager wrote to the BBCI’s Chief Executive Officer informing that the $120 million was available for the maintenance of the pontoons for the Berbice Bridge and requested an urgent meeting to discuss this project.
In response, the Finance Controller/ Corporate Secretary of the BBCI indicated that the sum would be insufficient to service all 39 in-situ pontoons of the Berbice River Bridge but nonetheless invited the DHBC to provide information on the methodology for the removing, servicing and replacing of pontoons in-situ; a schedule of works to be carried out; acceptance by the government of the liability for any claims arising from works carried out; quality assurance on works to be done; and that an Independent Surveyor, Jim Henderson, be appointed with regard to the works.
The statement said that teams from the BBCI and the DHBC met on 12th March, 2019, at which it was agreed that an Agreement between the DHBC and the BBCI would be prepared setting out the “technical, logistics, financial, areas of responsibilities and quality assurance aspects for this project.”
“Over the last few months, BBCI and the DHBC met on several occasions, where discussions on technical arrangements for undertaking the task were discussed. We have requested a further meeting with the DHBC to continue our discussion,” the statement said.
Meantime, the BBCI also rejected the Patterson’s claim that it is more focused on maximising financial returns for its shareholders at the expense of the citizens of Guyana. According to the statement, no shareholder has received “a cent” since the commencement of operations of the BBCI. It added that for the years 2015-2018, the loss of revenue has been in excess of $1 billion.
