Mexican company sues State over halted parking meters project

Jan 15, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – Smart City Solutions (SCS), a Mexican Company, has sued the Government of Guyana (GOG) for US$100 million as compensation in relation to a parking meters project which was introduced under the previous administration, some five years ago.

Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC.

This was revealed by the Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, during his weekly online programme – ‘Issues in the news.’
Describing the parking meters issue as one of importance, the Attorney General recalled that the project was introduced in 2016 by the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) under the stewardship of Mayor Patricia Chase-Greene. However, the project was stalled after it was rejected and faced massive protest by many citizens.
Nandlall said that most people might have forgotten about the parking meters project but the company has not. “We all forgot about the parking meters project. Well, the company that was responsible has not forgotten. The company has filed proceedings in an institution called the International Center for Settlement of Investments Disputes (ICSID) in Washington DC, against the government of Guyana,” he related.
The Attorney General then highlighted that SCS is claiming compensation against the government for the project in the sum of US$100 million. The ICSID is an international arbitration institution established in 1966 by the World Bank Group for legal dispute resolution and conciliation between international investors and States.
The case was filed on December 22, 2021, by the claimants: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, New York, NY and Houston, TX, U.S.A, and Fraser & Housty, Attorneys at Law, Georgetown, Guyana. The Attorney General’s Chambers, Ministry of Legal Affairs, Georgetown, Guyana, was listed as the respondent.
According to the ICSID website, the status of the matter is pending and the latest development in the matter is that the acting Secretary-General has registered a request for the institution of arbitration proceedings.
Nandlall noted during his programme that this is the kind of destruction that the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition, has left behind.
“Fast forward, a year and a half after we still now have to fetch another burden, another burden in which we have to hire lawyers in America to defend a contract that they entered into…This is the kind of destruction that these people have done,” the Attorney General said.
The Attorney General Chambers have already been served copies of all the documents filed on behalf of the company, and the Chambers has since retained a law firm in Washington, Foley Hoag and Associates, which would be leading a team from the AG’s Chambers to defend the proceedings.
According to the AG, the proceedings have commenced and one of the first tasks is to appoint a panel of arbitrators who will be presiding over the case. However, that process is ongoing and when the tribunal is appointed, then the AG Chambers will file answer to the claims that were made and they will also make their technical objections.
Following the announcement of the M&CC plans to implement the parking meters in the capital city, hundreds of people had gathered to protest.
According to reports, a controversial trip was made to Mexico to examine parking meters, a contract was signed, the city forged ahead with the plans and the company started implementation.
The parking meters project had received a considerable amount of rejection from the civil and business society. The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) had supported the call for the revocation of the parking meters contract and the body even encouraged its partners and members in the business community to maintain their protest efforts until the contract was fully revoked.
Kaieteur News reported that despite the protest actions the meters were active in January 2017. However, this then triggered some of the largest non-political protests in the city; citizens had formed an organisation called the Movement Against Parking Meters (MAPM).
Following the resistance, the then Government intervened and suspended the bylaws which had paved the way for the implementation of the parking meters – this later forced a halt to the project.
In January 2018, a ‘Parking Meter Renegotiation Committee’ by City Hall proposed a reduction in the parking fee from $500 per hour to $150 per hour. The City Council later approved amendments to the bylaws, and held discussions. However, the government had not given approval for the project to recommence.