Ifa Kamau Cush, one of the original principals behind the controversial parking meters deal had been jailed for four months in New York in 2002 and placed on five years’ probation for grand larceny in the third degree.
Cush recently ignited a firestorm over controversial comments on social media about opponents of the parking meters deal.
His guilty plea to grand larceny was revealed in court documents seen by Stabroek News. His guilty plea would raise questions as to whether there was due diligence done on him by the Mayor and City Council prior to the orchestration of a deal with him for the parking meters in Georgetown. Cush was one of the original signatories to the deal but was later swept aside when a Mexican company, Smart City Solutions (SCS) entered the equation and took over his company.
Considering the scale of the deal and the terms of the contract, observers say it would have been expected that the city would have done due diligence on Cush. A guilty plea to grand larceny would be a red flag in such deal making and under normal circumstances should have given pause to the city. The city has not said what background checks were done on any of the principals in the deal.
In addition to the four months of incarceration and probation, Cush was ordered to pay restitution of US$7,981. Court documents show that he had been taken to court in 2006 for violation of the terms of his probation. The county clerk signed a declaration of delinquency and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Cush was returned on the warrant in November of 2006 and released on his own recognizance in November 2006. He was then returned again on the warrant on August 30, 2011.
Cush on Thursday made several derogatory comments to opponents of the metered parking project on Facebook.
Asked to provide a copy of the contract entered into with the city of Georgetown, Cush told one individual: “You’re not progressives. You are freeloaders. You lack the intestinal fortitude to control your own destiny. You all possess the mentality of slaves, indentured servants, incapable of generating wealth and building capacity.”
He further declared that “those of you with the mentality of slaves and indentured servants pay to park without a mumbling word in the United States and the United Kingdom. However in Guyana because you lack the responsibility of citizenship you prefer to live in squalor and backwardness. Fortunately you are in the minority for most Guyanese citizens are committed to modernising our country.”
His comments were widely shared and criticised yesterday, prompting SCS Managing Director of Business Development Amir Oren and Managing Director of Operations Simon Moshelle to issue a press release condemning his statements. Attempts by Stabroek News to contact Cush proved futile as calls to his phone went unanswered.
He, however, on Friday stood by his comments. Posting on his Facebook page, Cush wrote, “I stand firmly behind my comment about the slave mentality among the protestors. That is my personal opinion. I did not utter those statements on behalf of Smart City Solutions.”
Cush’s pride in his comments were not shared by SCS, which described them as “utterly obscene and despicable.” It added that it wishes to disassociate itself completely from the “disgraceful” statement issued by Cush.
“This statement was issued without knowledge and authority of Smart City Solutions. Mr Cush neither speaks for nor represents Smart City Solutions” the company explained.
