Freddie is ungrateful even at Christmas

Freddie sinks into the Berbice Bridge:

How many times I am wrong about the incredible, unbelievable inability of the PPP Government to move Guyana forward? Let us see how many months will pass before this cheap, ugly bridge will begin to lay itself down on the water of Berbice River. When it happens, I will recall this article.
After 42 years of Independence, we bridged the Berbice River with a low cost structure that has no aesthetic appearance. It is the kind of make-shift facility that great armies erect in small poor, countries. Now the laugh begins.

Here is what the government’s own newspaper did. Instead of hiding the cheapness and ugliness of the bridge, the Guyana Times printed a supplement and showed two large photographs of similar spans being constructed? Guess by whom? American soldiers! Look at page five of the supplement and you will see the identical erection being set up by American soldiers in maybe Iraq or in some poor country.

They had to use those photographs. The Government couldn’t publish other images because countries in the 21st century do not construct such war-time edifices as what we just put across the Berbice River. They put up lovely aesthetic bridges as what our small neighbour, Suriname has done.

The President and the PPP cannot see the historic irony that the bridge will become. When we look at it, today, tomorrow or ten years from now, it is testimony to Guyana’s permanent poverty.

Blogger: Freddie has not once recognise the effort of the Government to bridge the Berbice river instead choosing to be overly critical. The least I can say is thanks and Freddie should have hailed the bride as a revolutionary step. i am not saying that all is well with teh bridge, but teh very least thanks is deserving.

As a social commentator myself, I meet the bridge with mixed reactions because I clearly can recall the "floating" wharf built by the PPP in Pomeroon. The PPP is noted for constructing ugly-looking buildings that later become white elephants. One only needed to ask Odinga about those.

And on another point, why is everyone blasting the Government for the seemingly high toll to use the bridge. May I remind that the bridge is owned by a group of private-sector companies under the Berbice Bridge Company Inc, which will be operated under a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangement for 21 years, after which it will be transferred to government.

I know this means that the Government didn't actually build the bride as they claim, but who the heck cares. They facilitated the bride and in the next 21 years, taxpayers would be left to saddle the high cost of maintaining a bridge which would have begun to show signs of deterioration. By that time the private sector companies involved would have already made a windfall.

Come on folks, be grateful. We have a bridge so lets make good use of it before it floats away.