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The parking meter project is a putrid deal

Apr 06, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
The most recent confirmation of an impropriety if not an illegality committed by Smart City Solutions with the fiat and support of the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown gives credence to the call for the total scrapping of this putrid deal. The Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson with whom I have tremendous respect and regard for, thankfully had the decency from the very beginning to highlight according to media reports, that there are several legal implications that could possibly see his ministry becoming involved in the parking meter imbroglio, primary among which was the fact there are “declared urban roads” in the city for which his ministry is responsible and not the Council, but which has seen the deployment parking meters and parking spaces illegally by the SCS and the M&CCGT.
This shows the disdain and fraudulence of the involved officials of the Georgetown Municipality who were proud to declare that they received their cut from the first draw down that SCS received from this project which included revenue from these declared urban roads which they should not have. This is plain and simple fraud. But then again the Council is no stranger to rackets.
A more worrying development has been the purported attempt by the Town Clerk in collusion with the ‘City Constabulary’ to confer policing powers on civilian employees of Smart City Solutions. Thankfully they have all now been fired, taking with them their ostensible law enforcement powers. But this attempt to create a number of ‘outlaws’ should be investigated and dealt with.
But whilst everyone is focused on and worrying about the scandalous parking meter contract, hardly any attention is being paid to the many other egregious delinquencies ongoing at City Hall. Other contracts being given out to a few persons for hundreds of millions of dollars, without adherence to tender board or public procurement policies is alarming. First, they are being given to friends and family members of the big ones at City Hall, clear acts of nepotism and cronyism, but worse, there is no bidding process which is a grave financial irregularity. City Hall urgently needs a Commission of Enquiry to be set up and put to work to stop the haemorrhaging of our Capital city.
Sean Levius

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