Govt complicit in Parking Meter corruption- Ramsammy

-says there was no move to prevent “contract from hell”

Former Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy has placed the blame for the current fiasco involving the Parking Meter Project and the Georgetown City Council, at the feet of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) administration.

Ramsammy said while the project has stirred outrage and resistance from the people, and while the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has been rightfully and deservedly pilloried for corruption, Government is even guiltier of one of the most

corrupt deals ever in our history.

“People have been understandably suspicious, but their suspicions of corruption might be worse than imagined given the information that is presently circulating. Information has reached the public that the real distribution of revenues is not what is stated in the contract, but as follows: 50 per cent for the parking meter company, 20 per cent M&CC, 20 per cent PNC and 10 per cent for individuals,” Ramsammy said in a statement.

He said as the call intensifies for the complete rescinding of the Parking Meter Contract and for people to be held accountable, questions are being asked relating to how Cush, a former felon in the United States, established a company called National Parking Systems (NPS), how this company was able to displace a previous company that was engaged by the M&CC and who linked Cush and the M&CC. Questions abound since people are aware that Cush has friends in the People’s National Congress (PNC).

“From the beginning, suspicions were rife since APN/AFC actively facilitated the M&CC to implement the Parking Meter Contract in spite of being totally privy to the reprehensible “terror” clauses. These suspicions intensified as people saw APNU/AFC tenaciously persisting with its complicity, even though they knew that by any standard “the contract from hell” was indefensible and even though they saw unprecedented public resistance.” According to Ramsammy, even now that the M&CC is in contempt of the court which has ordered the Council to stand down and place the parking meter system on abeyance, APNU/AFC is doing nothing to stop the M&CC and stop the “contract from hell”.

“APNU/AFC’s vile efforts with sporadic individual statements and feigned consternation meant to obfuscate the issue cannot extricate them from total complicity in the “contract from hell” because each of them that might have reluctantly issued a condemnatory statement is also part of the APNU/AFC Cabinet that has made the implementation of the “contract from hell” possible.”

He continued, “Frankly, APNU/AFC’s scorecard on the “contract from hell” spells GUILTY on all counts.

Granger and APNU/AFC knew of the Contract from the beginning. Harmon last year announced a Cabinet review of the Contract and their own Ministry of Finance and the Attorney General Office did reviews in July/August 2016 which concluded that the Parking Meter Contract signed by representatives of APNU/AFC on the M&CC was a “contract from hell” with several “terror” clauses.” He said in spite of this, Government, through Communities Minister, Ronald Bulkan, reviewed and approved the Parking Meter By-laws in January and gazetted it on February 3. Without the Parking Meter By-laws, the Contract could not be implemented. This scorecard is a recipe that smells of corruption.

“From the start public outrage was driven by the suspicion that this was a deal to enrich individuals and certain organisations. There has always been the nauseating suspicion that the national space in Georgetown is being used as a cash cow, not to fund development in Georgetown, but filling people’s pockets. Now comes information that, in fact, the “terror” contract clause that provides 80 per cent to the parking meter company (Smart City Solutions/National Parking Systems) and 20 per cent to the M&CC is just a paper provision and that the real distribution of the earnings from the “green monsters” is really 50 per cent to SCS/NPS, 20 per cent to the M&CC, 20 per cent to the People’s National Congress and 10 per cent to individuals”.

He said this information explains why APNU/AFC is so complicit in the execution of one of the worst examples of corruption in Guyana’s history.

“The parking meters themselves are now enshrined in our history as the “horrible green monsters”. Those of us who have been vocal in our opposition, resistance and boycott of the “horrible green monsters” and the “contract from hell”, are convinced that a crime has been perpetuated on the Guyanese people,” Ramsammy said.