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Dear Editor,
Charging toll to use a road is one thing, but converting those charges into personal gains is lawless; yet this is precisely what is happening at 70km Buckhall Check Point.
Vehicular traffic using the Buckhall Road to access the North West Region and some parts of the Cuyuni, is required to pay a hefty toll unlike other interior roadways such as, the Itaballi to Puruni Road. This practice was first introduced by Barama Company Ltd. many years ago so as to ensure the road is properly maintained while Guyana Goldfields Inc. later continued maintenance. However, some time after Barama Company Ltd. closed their operations at Buckhall in 2016, the Guyana Forestry Commission began collecting exorbitant tolls although maintenance is carried out by stakeholders using the road.
Ever since, elements within the Guyana Forestry Commission along with personnel in charge of the 70km checkpoint have been defrauding the Government of the toll they collect by charging road users exorbitant fees and understating the charges on receipts among other things. We, the road users and citizens of this land, are taking a stand against this corruption by calling on our President, His Excellency Dr. Irfaan Ali, and the Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat to immediately launch an investigation into this act and bring those perpetrators to justice.
Yours faithfully,
Justin Singh
