Latest update February 5th, 2025 11:03 AM
Smart City contract is synonymous with incompetence
Dear Editor,
Smart City’s Ifa Cush’s recent retrospective on conditions ‘back in the day’ is a figment of his imagination (he has since been dismissed) And coupled with his diatribe against citizens protesting the parking meters speaks to a mind disengaged from the realities in Guyana and particularly in Georgetown.
Guess whose interests are being promoted? Now, with the disclosure of the terms all City and national government officials who have been a party through review or signature of this giveaway contract have taken leave of their senses. Major incompetence now has another name, ironically – Smart City.
The contract must be voided. Citizens should be extricated from this insanity and a commission of inquiry set up to get to the bottom of this utter insult to the intelligence of residents of Georgetowners and by extension, all Guyanese. That we are at this point with a fiasco of a contract and no one is resigning or being fired is a signal of the sheer lack of integrity in our public officials. City Hall and inaction by the national government gives rise to the belief that this contract might still be valid. This contract is nothing short of a travesty. That procurement procedures were not followed seems to be tantamount to malfeasance and should be treated as such.
Without the massive broad based parking meters protests the authorities would have let this disgraceful giveaway of personal and public resources slide through without full disclosure. The Mayor and City Clerk offering to reduce parking fees is like a pick-pocket offering you some of your own money. This utterly disgraceful contract and the fact that no prompt firings or resignations have been forthcoming reflect poorly on the capacity of key City and by extension national officials.
Yes, these officials are fiddling while public confidence wanes and foreign investors are yet to be convinced. What seems to be clear is those involved do not possess the requisite skills to quickly assess an emerging potentially damning situation and take appropriate remedial actions. Truly, they do not belong in positions so critical to development of Georgetown or Guyana.
Phil Williams
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