–lawyers say Parking Meter Project can be revoked with no financial burden to City Hall

There are options available for termination of the controversial parking meter project by City Hall without the local government body incurring any liabilities as is stated in the contract.
This is according to lawyers associated with the Movement Against Parking Meters (MAPM) who addressed a town hall meeting on Saturday at St Stanislaus College. The clauses in the contract between the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) of Georgetown and Smart City Solutions (SCS) – the company contracted by M&CC to manage and operate the metered parking system – has been described as “ominous”.
In relation to termination of the contract, one of the clauses stipulates that in the event that both parties wish to terminate the contract, this must be done by written consent.
On the other hand, if the City Council wishes to unilaterally terminate the contract, without the written consent of SCS, the local government body shall pay that company a lump sum payment equivalent to the total direct and indirect, hard and soft cost cumulative gross investment of the company in the project.
The contract states that this lump sum is to be added to an amount equal to 25 per cent of the total direct and indirect, hard and soft cost cumulative gross investment of the company in the project.
When the value of the 25 per cent is calculated, it is to be further multiplied by the number of years remaining under the agreement.
Further, the Council would have to pay the reasonable out-of-pocket and documented costs and expenses incurred by the company as a direct result of such termination, cancellation, rescinding or voiding.
But according to Attorney-at-Law Pauline Chase, “The contract can be rescinded… it’s not difficult and it’s not as onerous as they say.”
UNENFORCEABLE
She reasoned that the contract is “unenforceable” because the council, by Section 3:04 of the Act could enter into agreement, but what has been revealed is that the Council has not even seen the contract.
“What we have heard is that the Council has not even seen the contract so how can we take it that they have entered into an agreement? So it’s unenforceable,” she explained.
Deputy Mayor-elect Lionel Jaikaran and two other councillors who were also present at the meeting admitted that they had not seen the contract. The three councillors said that they were told by the mayor that they would be able to see the document but would not be able to get a copy, nor would they be able to take photographs of it.
“A lot of things are done at City Hall that are not showed to us councillors,” the deputy mayor-elect said.
Meanwhile, Chase also submitted that the jurisdiction under the contract is Guyana. Therefore, any action to be taken by SCS would be in Guyana, and according to her, “it would be hard-pressed to beat us in our own courts”.
FLUFF
The attorney maintained that the talk about incurred liabilities is “really just fluff and [an] excuse that we can’t get out of the contract. We can get out of it quite easily. An attorney worth their salt can get you out of this contract, so the contract can be rescinded quite easily.”
Another prominent lawyer associated with MAPM, Nadia Sagar also weighed in, offering that there are several possibilities of having the contract revoked.
She said that the force majeure clause in the contract is something which could be explored to get the desired outcome.
“It [force majeure clause] talks about events beyond the reasonable control of SCS which delays, interrupts or limits the performance of SCS’s obligations and those include civil commotion, riot or public disorder, or an injunction issued by a Government authority,” she disclosed.
With these possibilities, the attorney offered that what is needed therefore, is continued protests and continued efforts to “starve the meters” for as long as citizens can.
MAPM has been supported in their call for revocation of the contract by the Private Sector Commission (PSC), the Guyana Human Rights Association, several other organisations, and thousands of Guyanese who assembled three weeks, consecutively, to participate in peaceful protests.
This prompted Central Government to meet with the Mayor and Town Clerk, and they were asked that the “burdensome” rates of $58 for 15 minutes be reduced.
However, the MAPM has rejected this proposal for reduction, and is holding strong to their call for a complete revocation of the contract which did not go to tender.