HGP Nightly News – The Linden Mayor and Town Council has ordered the immediate reopening of the Kara Kara Toll Station, rejecting the Government’s move to halt toll collection.
In a public notice issued Thursday, the Council said Town Clerk Lennox Gasper has been instructed to resume collection using the existing gazetted toll rates.
The decision follows a directive from Mayor Dominique Blair on Wednesday instructing the Town Clerk to reopen the facility. The Council is challenging Local Government Minister Priya Manickchand’s purported revocation of the Linden Town Council (Toll) By-Laws 2016.
According to the municipality, the by-laws were properly made, approved and gazetted and have never been repealed by the Council. The Council argues that the matter was never brought before it for a decision to repeal or discontinue the by-laws.
It therefore maintains that the 2016 legislation remains in force and provides the legal basis for the toll station’s operation. The dispute comes as the Council and Government continue discussions over proposed changes to the toll rates.
However, the Council insists that the toll station’s operation is separate from the rates motorists are required to pay. It says negotiations over new rates should not result in the continued closure of the toll station or the suspension of revenue collection.
The Council has consequently instructed the Town Clerk to resume collection at the existing rates while discussions with the Government continue.
Mayor Blair’s directive states that the reopening is “without prejudice” to the Council’s position on the legality of the Minister’s purported revocation.
The move sets the stage for a fresh confrontation between the Linden municipality and the Government over control of the Kara Kara toll.
