Smart City Solutions (SCS), the contractor for the city’s controversial parking meter project, was yesterday added as a party to the proceedings brought by Mohendra Arjune to have the court quash the company’s contract with the Mayor and City Council (M&CC).
At a brief in-chamber hearing yesterday afternoon, Justice Brassington Reynolds, who is presiding over the matter at the High Court in Georgetown, granted the application made by Stephen Fraser, attorney for SCS.
Arjune’s lawyer, Kamal Ramkarran, consented.
SCS now has to file its affidavit in defence by March 27.
Thereafter, Ramkarran has no later than April 6 to file his affidavit in reply to SCS, as well as an affidavit in defence which he received from the M&CC during yesterday’s hearing.
The matter has been adjourned to April 10 for reports and the presentation of submissions.
The M&CC incurred costs in the sum of $10,000 for the late filing of its affidavit, which were awarded to Arjune.
Arjune, a conveyancing clerk attached to the Cameron and Shepherd law firm, has made an application for judicial review on the contention that the city failed to comply with the law in entering the contract. His attorney has argued that the M&CC failed to comply with mandatory prerequisites set out in Sections 230 and 231 of the Municipal and District Councils Act.
Section 231 of the Act states that before entering into any contract for the execution of any work or the supply of any goods to the value of $250,000 or more, a council is required to give notice of such proposed contract and “shall by such notice invite any person willing to undertake the same to submit a sealed tender thereof to the council….” The project was not publicly tendered, which has been one of the bases upon which it has been criticised.
Ramkarran also contends that by entering into the May 13, 2016 contract, M&CC unlawfully and in an ultra vires manner delegated its statutorily derived power to erect and maintain parking meters under and in terms of Section 276(b) of the Act and acted contrary to Section 21 of the Civil Law Act of Guyana, which prohibits the establishment of monopolies in Guyana. He also argued that the decision by the M&CC and SCS to exempt teachers and employees of the Bank of Guyana from charges was arbitrary, discriminatory and contrary to the operation of the rule of law.
In an affidavit supporting his application to the court, Arjune noted that the parking fees, which amount to approximately $37,120 per month, have been “extremely onerous” on him.
Meanwhile, the matter in which the New Building Society (NBS) is challenging the by-laws for the parking system has been adjourned to April 3 for reports.
Attorney Pauline Chase, who is representing the NBS, has filed affidavit in answer to an application previously made by Fraser to also have SCS named as a party in those proceedings.
The NBS is contending that the by-laws are illegal.
Early last month, Justice Reynolds ordered that an order or rule nisi certiorari be issued directed to Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan to show cause why a writ of certiorari should not be issued to quash his approval and/or decision to approve the Parking Meter By-Laws, made under the Municipal and District Councils Act on or about the 23rd day of January, 2017, in that the said approval or decision to approve was of no legal effect and was made unlawfully and in breach of statute.
The NBS challenge rests on whether the procedure for the approval of the by-laws, as stipulated in the Act, was followed. NBS has argued that by failing to gazette its intention to apply for Bulkan’s permission, City Hall acted outside the law.
NBS argues that the implementation of metered parking has severely affected the entity resulting in great loss and hardship.
According to Anil Kishun, Chief Executive Officer of NBS, “the approval of the by-laws has put into operation a Parking Meter System which restrains and prevents our employees and customers from gaining access to our establishment without incurring large fees which is in some cases prohibitive or being guilty of a criminal offence which attracts a prison term upon summary conviction.”
In an affidavit drawn in support of the motion, Kishun said that prior to the by-laws, parking was available to employees and customers and the physical facility for it was made available at the sole expense of NBS.
Owing to widespread public outcry and weekly protest actions by members of the Movement against Parking Meters, Minister Bulkan on Friday last ordered the city to suspend the by-laws for 90 days.
