Dear Editor,
We have seen a letter published in SN from Mr Michael Annamunthodo on February 23, listing a number of questions based on mostly manufactured information on the part of MAPM (‘Mayor, Town Clerk or SCS should clear the air on questions surrounding parking meters’). We appreciate him seeking the truth by asking the following questions to which we are pleased to respond:
Q1. “Why were procurement policies not followed and this project not advertised and other vendors encouraged to submit proposals?”
- This matter is now before the courts precluding comment from us.
More to the point of your question, the city council’s quest for a proposal for metered parking in the city is not new. It was public knowledge and promoted periodically, since some 29 years ago, long before Smart City Solutions was invited to make a proposal.
It is our understanding that the council publicly invited proposals for this project as far back as 1990 without an offer ever being made to invest in the full cost of the project, as we have done.
Smart City Solutions was formed as a Special Purpose Company established in Guyana, owned by a consortium of investors based in Mexico who would have been pleased to bid for the project had there been any other qualified proposals, in or out of Guyana, on the table.
The contract to which SCS is committed obligates the company to invest in the full capital and operational costs of the metered parking project, which was projected to be some US$10 million and delivering and maintaining a state of the art metered street parking operation over a minimum of 20 years to the city.
Q2. “Who in Guyana conducted the feasibility studies?”
- When we were invited to take over the initial contract held by National Parking Systems (NPS), our company financed and conducted our own comprehensive study with regard to the economic and social feasibility of the project. The council did not have the means of conducting the study for itself. As a matter of interest, the feasibility study conducted for the Berbice River Bridge is reported to have cost in the vicinity of US$1million (‘The Berbice Bridge and its lessons for development planning’ Stabroek News, September 9, 2015).
We notice that your letter describes our contract unfairly and without any empirical information to support the assertion, as a “lucrative deal”. At the rates which we have agreed to charge in Georgetown, when compared with other similar cities regionally, and rates charged for other parking in this city, at the CJI Airport and for crossing the Berbice Bridge, our rates are proven to be comparatively low. In the meantime, the city council will continue to benefit every month from 20% of the gross revenue (that is before deduction of any expenses) earned by SCS.
Q3. “Did NPS or SCS provide at least 3 years of audited financial statements to show that the companies are in good financial standing or have the capabilities for such a product?”
- Our company has provided for and met all of the financial and other information required by Go-Invest, including the provision of audited financial statements.
Q4. “If the companies were only formed in 2016 then it follows that they do not have the background or experience in the parking domain they claim”.
- There is nothing unusual or exceptional for a foreign private investor to register a Special Purpose Company for a new investment in another country. This is an elementary strategy in establishing a proper and legally efficient international organizational structure. In our case, the key parent company with the background and experience in this case, is in Mexico City ‒ Operadora de Estacionamientos Bicentenario (OEB) of Mexico. OEB is a member and major investor in the consortium of investors who own and operate and are co-founders of Smart City Solutions in Guyana. Any Google search will readily identify OEB’s operation in Mexico.
Omai Gold Mines, as an example, in Guyana, was owned and operated by Cambior, a major Canadian mining company which had worldwide mineral investments, operating through different companies in different countries.
Q5. “Mr Cush has not denied that he spent time in jail for larceny, hence one must believe that this is true.”
- Mr Cush’s background is available for anyone who wishes to research it. He committed a relatively minor offence very many years ago, in the USA. In any event Mr Cush has been dismissed from his director position with SCS.
Q6. “Mr Mosheville also has not denied that he spent time in jail for smuggling cigarettes.”
- This is completely untrue and libelous. It is typical of the falsehood and misinformation being irresponsibly peddled in some sections of our media. It is surprising and disappointing that this nonsense has been allowed to be published from your letter.
Q7. “Did NPS and SCS provide references for previous completed project?”
- In fact, as we have already pointed out, SCS has fully satisfied all of the very exhaustive documentation required by Go-Invest, including provision of impressive references as to its experience.
Yours faithfully,
Amir Oren
Managing Director of Business
Development
