No quick fix -MAPM says parking meter contract needs to be rescinded
Councillor, Malcolm Ferreira
Councillor, Malcolm Ferreira

IN a bid to maintain professionalism and avoid confrontation at the commencement of the consultations on the metered parking project, the Mayor and City Council of Georgetown (M&CC)’s negotiation team kept their rebuttals limited, although being told by the Movement Against Parking Meters (MAMP) that there is “no quick fix.”

Chairman of the Negotiation team, Malcolm Ferreira, maintained peace between the parties on Tuesday despite claims by the MAPM that the contract between the Council and Smart

A member of the MAPM, Learie Barclay, (centre) making a presentation on behalf of the Movement (Samuel Maughn photo)

City Solutions (SCS) is deeply flawed.

“There is no quick fix, it must be scrapped and the process restarted in accordance with law and the basic principles of good governance, due process, transparency and accountability all of which were lacking prior,” said Learie Barclay, a member of the MAPM.

The statement signaled their support for Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan’s position on May 4, 2017 that the M&CC is free to quash the purported contract with SCS and enter into a new contract,” said the member of the MAPM.

The beginning of the three-day consultations was marked by intense claims that the contract was illegal “ab initio” and it is legally untenable and an impractical position for the M&CC to seek to renegotiate the illegality.

Court proceedings are however still pending with regard to the legality of the contract.

“Hard penalties, breach of constitutional rights and other onerous provisions in the contract further make it unenforceable and reinforces the position for its revocation,” said Barclay.

Calls by the MAPM were similar to what were voiced during their protest actions against the project, which lasted for over a month since the implementation of the project in January, 2017.

Barclay told members of the Council there must be a full and complete revocation of the “purported” contract. The absence of tendering in accordance with the laws of Guyana, particularly the constitution of Guyana, the Public Procurement Act and the Municipal and District Councils Act is an “insurmountable deficiency” of the current contract, said members of the Movement.

Sections 232, 233 and 234 of the Municipal and District Council’s Act, which undoubtedly directly governs the council specifies that any contract above the sum of $250,000 must be tendered. MAPM therefore made the call for a public tender to be done if the M&CC decides to rescind the current contract and form another.

Additionally, it was highlighted that the tender was not the only exemption because there was allegedly no feasibility study, social study or impact study that was done.

Questions were also raised about Value Added Tax (VAT) on parking and the possibility of a reduction in the price for parking.

According to the original contract, the Council would collect 20 per cent of the profits from SCS. The rates for parking were $28 VAT inclusive for 15 minutes or about $100 per hour.

Meanwhile, the negotiation body agreed to take the considerations of MAPM in to consideration but called on them to share the findings of their research with the Council.

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