Dear Editor,
If a public official managed their own bank account the way they are currently managing yours, they would be bankrupt within a week. But in the world of Guyanese high finance, common sense is often sacrificed at the altar of “private sector encouragement.” The recent announcement that the Government is “finalizing” the acquisition of the Berbice River Bridge is not a victory for the taxpayer—it is a calculated move that turns a legal gift into a multi-billion dollar giveaway.
To understand the magnitude of this giveaway we must look at the math in layman’s terms. The Berbice Bridge was built as a “Build-Own-Operate-Transfer” (BOOT) project. This is a simple legal contract: private investors get to run the bridge and collect tolls for 21 years to make back their money plus profit. At the end of that term—which for this bridge is roughly 2027/2028—the law mandates that the bridge be handed over to the people of Guyana for the symbolic price of one dollar.
Instead of waiting just a year and a few months to pick up the keys for the price of a local soda, the Government has engineered a “crisis” to justify a massive payout today.
The complicity of the State in fueling this giveaway follows a cynical, three-step playbook:
• The artificial debt: In August 2025, the Government declared the bridge “toll-free.” While this sounds like relief, it was actually a financial trap. The private owners didn’t lose their right to revenue; the Government simply agreed to pay the private company every single cent of those tolls out of the public purse.
• The budget balloon: By removing tolls, the Government ballooned the bridge maintenance and subsidy allocation from a modest $175 million in 2025 to a staggering $1.342 billion in the 2026 budget. They created an “undue burden” on the treasury by their own hand, then used that very burden as the excuse to say, “We must buy the bridge now to stop paying these high subsidies!”
• The obsolete asset: Adding insult to injury, the State is already negotiating a $260 million USD contract for a new, high-span bridge to replace the current structure. We are being asked to buy a car that is about to be scrapped, from a dealer who was legally obligated to give it to us for free next year anyway.
So, who are we paying? While Minister Edghill remains “tight-lipped” on the exact final figure, the scale is evident: the 2026 budget has already set aside $12.2 billion for “bridge works,” a portion of which is fueling this acquisition. We are paying a handpicked group of private “partners” who have spent years being protected while the public’s money—invested through the National Insurance Scheme (NIS)—took the brunt of the risk.
The list of beneficiaries remains the same “merry” circle: New GPC and Queens Atlantic Investment Inc. (controlled by Dr. Bobby Ramroop), Secure International Finance (Beharry Group), and Hand-in-Hand Insurance.
The most jarring part of this “creative” construct is the fate of the NIS. While the government claims the NIS has received returns on its $2.5 billion investment, the scheme itself continues to operate at a massive deficit—standing at roughly $2.5 billion in the red. Contributors are told there is “no money” for significant benefit increases, yet billions can be found to ensure private investors walk away “smiling to the bank” before their concession expires.
The question remains: If these public officials were handling their own retirement funds or their children’s inheritance, would they ever pay a multi-billion dollar premium for something they would legally own for $1 dollar in twelve months? The answer is a resounding no. This is not “prudence.” This is the deliberate picking of the small man’s pocket to ensure the elite are carried to the finish line on the backs of the Guyanese taxpayer.
“After all, what was sold a mere six months ago as toll-free crossings for citizens, ironically is now being served up as their final bill.”