The Mayor and Councillors of George-town have approved another extension of the city’s contracts with five small garbage collection companies while they are set to meet Puran Brothers Disposal Inc and Cevons Waste Management to possibly work out a way forward on their contracts.
Just before 8 pm last evening, a severely depleted council, comprising just one third of the elected members, voted to grant one last extension, from March 26th to April 26th, to the five companies.
The decision was taken following the presentation of a legal opinion by Senior Counsel Llewellyn John on the status of the city’s five-year contracts with Puran Brothers Disposal Inc and Cevons Waste Management.
Last December, the council’s attorney, Roger Yearwood, advised that the two companies were in breach of their contracts after they chose to suspend their services in the previous month over non-payment. The council subsequently requested a second opinion from the Attorney General’s Chambers but received none and sought a third opinion.
In a one-page opinion, John said that he “didn’t see the failure to pay the amount due as a fundamental breach” and listed three measures he believed the contractors could’ve taken rather than withdrawing their services, including resorting to the court and seeking bank loans for needed cash to keep them operational.
“In my opinion they should come to some sort of agreement and work to make the contract successful,” the opinion, signed by John, concluded.
When the opinion was presented to the council, Councillor Gregory Fraser once again argued that the city must accept that is had breach the contracts. He stressed that though the opinion stated there was not a “fundamental breach,” this is not the same as no breach.
He also went on to argue that the council was deceived when it was told that the small contractors were charging less that Puran Brothers and Cevons.
“The larger contractors were charging more because they were clearing parapet waste and barrels. These small contractors are only picking up barrels,” he noted.
With City Hall owing them in excess of $160 million for services provided since June, Puran Brothers and Cevons had argued last November that they were unable to continue to operate and withdrew their services. They were subsequently paid by Central Government.
