Speaking about upgrades to the Paradise Island Bridge Toll System made last October, Minister of Works and Utilities Bradley Roberts said in the House of Assembly on Wednesday it was also noteworthy that the Bridge Authority’s long-term balance had been reduced for the fiscal year ending December 2004.
Mr. Roberts, who tabled the audited financial statement for the Bridge Authority, said the loan was reduced from $1.1 million at the end of December 2003 to approximately $0.5 million at the end of December 2004.
According to Mr. Roberts, the loan, which was obtained by The Hotel Corporation of The Bahamas to purchase the outstanding shares of Paradise Island Bridge Company Limited, was reduced in large part due to the company’s "aggressive" collection of receivables campaign.
Mr. Roberts also pointed to the authority’s gross income for the 2004 fiscal year, which was $4.42 million, compared to $4.51 million in 2003.
"This slight reduction of approximately $84,000 is a result of prior adjustments and not a reduction in the revenue collected," Mr. Roberts said.
According to the financial statement, the Authority’s expenditures ranged from loan interest and bank charges to repairs and maintenance and utilities.
However, expenses decreased from $4.72 million in 2003, to $4.0 million in 2004, and according to Mr. Roberts, the primary reason for this reduction was the implementation of a detailed fixed asset register.
Mr. Roberts said the bridge toll system had been completely upgraded by the IBI Group Limited in October 2004. These upgrades included the integration of new computer hardware and related software and implementation of toll application software functions.
As a result, their audit and cash controls were greatly improved and it also gave the Bridge Authority the ability to place a monetary value on any miscellaneous and deliberate transactions staff has made, Mr. Roberts said.
"The company is now able to accurately determine each vault’s monetary contents," he said. "That is to say the overages and shortages at each toll booth and consequently the Bridge Authority can now trace deficiencies or defalcations to their original source."
With regards to the inspection of the two bridges, Mr. Roberts said that Paul Hanna and Associates, the company which carried out the inspections, has again been contracted to develop a comprehensive bridge management programme. Mr. Roberts expects to have this report in hand sometime next week.
The Bridge Authority was established as a corporate body on June 26, 1998, as a continuation of the former Paradise Island Bridge Authority for the purpose of regulating traffic across the bridge and imposing charges.
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