‘Waste of taxpayers’ money’, Nandlall says on parking metres
Attorney General, Anil Nandlall
Attorney General, Anil Nandlall

– US$3M possibly needed in legal fees
– $100M approved by National Assembly on Monday

IN what has been described as a “a complete and utter waste” and unnecessary spending of taxpayers’ money, Guyana is expected to spend approximately US$3 million to defend against the US$100 million parking meter case brought by Smart City Solutions (SCS), a Mexican Company, which was contracted to establish a parking meter system in the capital city in 2016.

This was disclosed by Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, S.C. as he made remarks before the National Assembly on Monday, explaining a request by his Ministry for $100 million in supplementary funding.

“It is public knowledge that the government of Guyana was sued for the parking meter contract that was entered into during the last tenure of the last government.
“Some $3 million will have to be expended only in legal fees to represent the government’s interest in those legal proceedings. What is reflected here is a deposit towards those legal fees,” Nandlall related.

According to the AG, the case is expected to be a protracted process and it is uncertain at this time how long it may drag out.
“That is why the fees are spent over a period. We have to pay by instalments as the work progresses. I can’t speak right now [on how long it could go]; it depends on how the case unfolds,” the AG said in his engagement with the Guyana Chronicle following his presentation in Parliament.

It was earlier this year that the AG had revealed that SCS had filed proceedings against the government of Guyana at the International Centre for Settlement of Investments Disputes (ICSID) in Washington DC.
ICSID is an international arbitration institution established in 1966 for legal dispute resolution and conciliation between international investors and countries. ICSID is part of and funded by the World Bank Group, which is headquartered in Washington DC.

Party representatives for the claimants in the case are the law firm, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in the United States and Fraser, Housty and Yearwood law firm in Guyana.
Meanwhile, government of Guyana has retained Foley Hoag and Associates, a Washington DC law firm, as legal counsel alongside the Attorney General’s Chambers.

“The paperwork is being done. Pleadings are being filed and before that an arbitrator had to be appointed by the two parties.
“We are [at] that stage where the arbitrator has been appointed, and there is an exchange of documents between the two parties as the case is being built. And that is taking place in Washington DC,” the AG explained.

In June 2022, Argentine international lawyer Marcelo Kohen was appointed as the arbitrator for the proceedings. An arbitrator is an independent person officially appointed to settle a dispute.
It was in 2016 that City Hall, under the then Mayor Patricia Chase-Green while the David Granger-led coalition government was in office, signed a contract with SCS to implement a parking meter system in Georgetown.

Installations were happening throughout the city, and staff trained for the new parking meter regime.
However, the initiative faced immediate backlash and saw massive protests against its implementation.

Citizens contended then that the fees were too high and placed undue financial burden on the populace. Others argued that the awarding of the contract lacked transparency.
Public pressure forced a suspension of the project. Throughout the process, however, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), while in opposition, argued against the awarding of the contract and rolling out of the parking meter system.

The APNU+AFC was voted out of government in 2020. Patricia Chase-Green is no longer Georgetown’s Mayor, and the city’s then-Town Clerk, Royston King is also no longer in the employ of the city.
AG Nandlall said recently that it is unfortunate that the citizens are left to deal with the consequence of decisions that were made by officials who do not have to deal with the penalties of their decision.

“It is a complete and utter waste, and unnecessary use of taxpayers’ money for a case that is due to the reckless decision that was made under the previous administration.
Those who made the decision and are responsible are no longer there to answer for the decision. But the people of Guyana now have to shoulder that burden and it’s unfortunate, but it’s the duty of our government to defend the country,” the AG related.

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