Parking Meter deal designed to exploit nation

Aug 07, 2016 News

-M&CC agreed to grant coy sweeping tax exemptions – Min. of Finance review

The verdict is in on the parking meter contract and it is not looking good for

Ifa Kamau Kush, with two employees and the meter.

Smart City Solutions, Inc. (SCSI), the private investor that arranged a 49-year-long contract to erect and manage parking meters in Georgetown, with officials from the Mayor and City Council (M&CC).
In effect, however, they were seeking to create a monopoly. This is according to the Ministry of Finance in its review of the agreement.
The very deal appeared exploitive in nature. “The prices appear outlandish since it is apparent that no feasibility study was done to determine break even and reasonable profit positions,” the Ministry said.
“M&CC has to provide some justifications of how the parking and other fees were derived.”
The Ministry also noted that the contract stipulates that SCSI would pay no direct taxes. This includes exemption from income, corporation, Value Added Taxes (VAT), capital gains and all other levies, taxes, duties or “other imposition of similar nature.”
According to the review, if assented to by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) then this will deny the Consolidated Fund an important source of funding.
The Ministry also expressed doubts that the supposed benefits to come to the nation from the deal will indeed come, given how exploitative the contract is.
Instead, the Ministry said that indirectly, the contract is likely to have a detrimental effect on business growth. The team pointed out that at the retail, wholesale and producer levels, workers and consumers may change their shopping and spending patterns.
The review noted that with the changes in consumer patterns, who might seek to avoid the parking

Mayor Patricia
Chase-Green

meter fees likely to be attracted in Georgetown, the economic effect must be factored in. The Ministry warned about the scope which SCSI was given over fees.
“The contract has given complete monopoly power to SCSI over parking within Georgetown. This control could lead to exploitation of consumers as SCSI has the power to change fees arbitrarily and determine zones.”
Subterfuge
The contract between National Parking Solutions/SCSI and the M&CC was signed since November 2015. The deal only became public knowledge after City Hall announced that Astrolobe Technologies, which had claimed it had ‘first jump’ on the project, would not be considered.
At no time were tenders invited to give companies with the capacity to execute the project an opportunity. Both the Mayor of Georgetown, Patricia Chase- Green and Town Clerk Royston King, had defended this by saying that the council would not be investing any money, but would get 20 percent of the gross revenue.
NPS is owned by US-based Guyanese, Ifa Kamau Cush, who according to the Mayor had submitted a proposal since 1996. Checks by Kaieteur News had found that NPS did not have an office at the Park Avenue, Manhattan address that it listed on its website.
There was also little information on Smart City Solutions Inc., the company with which Cush teamed up.

Deputy Mayor
Sherod Duncan

The situation caused a visible rift between the Mayor and King and the Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan.
Duncan, who also made checks on the companies, had been unequivocal in his opposition since he could find little evidence of the two companies.
More controversy arose however. In June, Mayor Chase-Green, King; head of the Finance committee, Oscar Clarke; and councilor Junior Garrett, left on a “due diligence” trip to Mexico, seven months after the contract was inked.
The consortium paid for the plane tickets and hotel accommodation for the officials, who then inspected the meters.
And when meters were brought for demonstrations, Smart City employees stated that the meter would be charging $125 for 15 minutes of parking. Chase-Green had disputed this, saying that the fee was being negotiated.
Subsequently, Government had announced that both the Attorney General’s chambers and the Ministry of

Town Clerk
Royston King

Finance would be undertaking a review of the contract.

3 thoughts on “Parking Meter deal designed to exploit nation”

Keith Williams August 7, 2016 at 8:11 am

The corruption in this deal is so evident it sickens me. By what moral and ethical standards can this Government holds itself above the PPP, if the heads of the City Hall participants in this attempted fraud do not roll.
Dr Nat Khublall August 7, 2016 at 9:10 am

Parking meters would involve a high capital cost to implement. This cost together with operating cost and a profit for the investor would have to be met from parking charges. Such a high capital cost can be avoided if a coupon system is implemented. This system is in operation in Singapore and perhaps other places as well. The coupon involves the punching of holes in the coupon to indicate the date and time of the day when a car is parked in a particular area, car park or public road within the town zoned for controlled parking. Coupons can be for an hour or two-hour period ofr two one-hour coupons can be used for a two-hour parking. Coupons can be printed in bulk by the municipality or the government. In Singapore the system is under the control of the government. The system avoids theft from meters, vandalism causing damage to meters and manpower in operating the meters, such as servicing the meters and collection of coins, if coins are used instead of credit or debit cards.
The cost of producing the coupons will be very little compared with the capital and other costs associated with meters.. Dr Nat Khublall
Muhammad Raoof August 7, 2016 at 10:57 pm

Thanks to the vigilance and investigative work of KN, the people of GT will be spared the indignation of having the “parking meter” fiasco RAMMED down their throats. Guyanese know first hand how corruption has placed them at a disadvantage in life. If the people had remained silence, we would have seen the ugly side of the dictatorial nature of some members of the City Council. Power is in the hands of the people and as such, that power must be exercised. We certainly do not wish to see and experience another twenty plus years of corruption by our elected officials; at the Local Government level, nor at the Central Government. Thanks again KN.