Mayor of Georgetown Patricia Chase-Green has said that it is her administration’s intention to work towards fulfilling the recommendations of the central government with regard to the controversial parking meter contract between the city and Smart City Solutions Inc (SCS).
In an invited comment yesterday, Chase-Green told Stabroek News that the central government reports were forwarded to the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) by Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan.
“We respect everything the government would’ve said and intend to work towards achieving the recommendations,” she said.
This sentiment was shared by the Chairman of the city’s Finance Committee Oscar Clarke.
Clarke, who is also General Secretary of the People’s National Congress Reform, told Stabroek News that while he has seen the report on the government’s reviews, he has not had a chance to read it as he is busy preparing for his party’s congress, which will be held later this month.
He, however, noted that he has read this newspapers reports of both the comments made on the matter by Minister of State Joseph Harmon and on the Ministry of Finance’s report.
“The government’s response has been thorough. I read Mr. Harmon’s comments and the article on the report and I am satisfied that we have more to do on the contract. Once the Finance Committee and the council have discussed the report, I expect that we will be making a detailed response to it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan, who has been vocal in his condemnation of the process through which the council entered into the contract, has welcomed the government’s findings.
“This definitive move by our national government signals that it will not be business as usual and as such there is much to be hopeful for.
The meticulous review and comments afforded by the Ministry of Finance are noteworthy; the depth and breadth of its content most commendable,” he said in a Facebook post on the matter.
Duncan also commended the Attorney General’s office on its efforts though he made no mention of the specifics of that report before concluding that in the interest of transparency and good governance the documents emanating from the central government should be made available to every city councillor.
The July 2nd Ministry of Finance report described the deal in some areas as exploitive and labelled the city’s outlook on aspects of the deal as “ignorant.” The report also revealed that the secret contract struck between the M&CC and SCS last year grants fiscal concessions to the company which are not within the powers of the city and would now have to be addressed by Go-Invest, the Ministry of Finance and the Guyana Revenue Authority after the fact.
The report, seen by Stabroek News, concluded that the concessions granted under contract are “a detriment to the public” and can be used as a means to bar any form of local competition for 49 years – the duration of the contract – while presenting a foreign company an opportunity to enter into the economic activities of this country via a backdoor.
The report was produced subject to a Cabinet decision which asked officials of the Ministry of Finance to undertake a review of the agreement between the M&CC and SCS, in light of the public concerns over the lack of transparency surrounding the deal and the potential financial burden it would place on the citizenry.
The review, which sought to point out the financial implications of the agreement, states in its general observations that “Government procurement practices may have been violated, in that a tender was not advertised and bids reviewed for acceptance based on certain criteria and as such justifies a revoking of the contract by Government and the re-tendering.”
There had been no open tender for the deal and former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran had pointed out that this was also in violation of the city’s procurement rules.
The Ministry report further notes that the team has concluded that subject to “legal implications, there are grounds for the contract to be withdrawn and the related [financial] damages assessed and paid subject to M&CC producing a feasibility study that provides the national government a clear picture of the demand analysis, financial analysis, socio-economic cost benefit analysis, risk analysis, technological alternatives and production plan, human resources, location plan and implementation.”
Consequently the Ministry of Finance has advised that the council either undertake a study of putting metered parking, parking facilities and towing and recovery system within the city on its own accord or re-tender for bidding for the six zones within Georgetown separately, so as to allow for greater competition.
Barring these two possibilities, the city has been advised to “re-assess the financing arrangement of the contract.”
The Attorney General’s Chambers was also invited to review the contract and last Thursday State Minister Joseph Harmon said it found that the contract was not illegal but that the terms and conditions were heavily in favour of the concessionaire.
The report from the AG’s Chambers, according to Harmon, recommended that City Hall engage an accountant to review the contract in so far as the rates and the fees are concerned and to advise it on the way forward.
Stabroek News has been informed that the Attorney-General’s Chambers met with company officials a few weeks ago and told them that there was nothing illegal with the contract and they could go ahead with their plans.
