–Mayor asks councillors to study law before airing their views 

CITY Mayor Patricia Chase-Green on Monday announced a new date for discussion of the contentious parking meter among councillors.
She’s also asked that before engaging each other on the matter they study Chapter 28:01 of the laws governing the municipality.
Thursday, September 7 is the new date set for the talks, so councillors can ventilate their views after they would have “quite clearly” read Chapter 28:01, she told the fortnightly statutory meeting at City Hall.

When councillors met on August 17 last to debate, they took a decision to defer the deliberations, on account of the need for more time to study the report that was submitted by the re-negotiating committee.“Everybody will be given an opportunity to say what they feel about it,” the mayor told the Guyana Chronicle when asked about what is planned for the next meeting.

While Councillor Malcolm Ferreira was appointed chairman of the team re-negotiating the contract, other members of the committee were: Councillors Noelle Chow-Chee, Carlyle Goring, Tricia Richards, Ivelaw Henry, Roopnarine Persaud and Heston Bostwick.
According to the report that the team has submitted so far, Smart City Solutions (SCS), the foreign company granted the concession by City Hall to install parking meters in the city, has refused to submit certain necessary documents to the committee unless the latter’s members agree to be bound by secrecy.

According to the report, the committee requested from SCS certain documents that, under normal circumstances, would be present and available in any business deal, so that they can be clarified and verified.
“SCS wanted the committee to sign a confidentiality agreement before being allowed to see the relevant documents (feasibility study, business proposal), but given the public nature of the parking meter fiasco, the committee found it necessary to reject the idea of signing any non-disclosure agreement or to be bound by secrecy,” the report said.    

MAJOR RED FLAGS

“The fact that the accountant’s report raised major red flags, it became necessary to ask SCS to provide verifying documents for the initial capital expenditure (proof of investment), as it is alarmingly unfair for council to negotiate any deal without having the true and proper supporting documents to arrive at a business proposal that would be beneficial to all involved,” it added.
The company refused to provide proof of investment, and was therefore informed by the committee that no further discussions will take place unless and until the documents requested are made available.
Although Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, along with representatives from the Ministry of Finance, and the independent accountant all agreed that SCS should willingly release the documents as requested, as is the norm for due diligence, the documents were never presented to the committee, and hence no further discussions took place.

The report said that during the course of the consultations, persons expressed the view that the whole process surrounding the deal with SCS lacked transparency. “According to some stakeholders, many parts of the project seemed to be shrouded in secrecy, and was not open to full clarification and scrutiny.”

The fees for towing, storage and clamping were said to be “exploitative”, and persons relayed a message of feeling victimised, the report mentioned. “Booting seems to have had a nasty negative effect on the psyche of some persons, who willingly expressed such at the consultations, and with some calling the act oppressive and even slave-like.”
As for the cost, the report said the overwhelming majority of persons consulted expressed the view that the current prices are way too high.
“Comparisons were presented as it relates to our GDP, the economic situation in the country, the salaries of residents and especially paid-parking as another new burden on the society,” the report said. “Concerns were raised about the high cost for all-day parking, as well as no preferential parking for business owners, customers and delivery vehicles,” it added.
The view was also expressed that SCS is a foreign company, and as such, the majority of the revenue earned in Guyana will be exported to a foreign country and not used for local development.
“Persons were of the view that Guyanese companies could provide the same or a better service at a cheaper price that’s beneficial to all involved.”