Jnce a hitherto silent partner of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), the Justice for All Party (JFAP) has come out in condemnation of the Parking Meter Project. According to the Party, the contract must be scrapped with immediate effect.
According to the JFAP, which is led by Junior Finance Minister Jaipaul Sharma, the Party has reached the conclusion that the contract was entered into without the due consent of the entire Council. It also noted that the Town Clerk had no
JFAP Leader Jaipaul Sharma
authority, under Chapter 28:01 Section VII of the Municipal and District Councils Act, to sign the contract.
“The Town Clerk derives his powers from affirmative motions tabled at the Council. Having been sworn in on April 1 2016, the current Council never passed any motion, prior to May 13 2016, giving the Town Clerk the authority to enter any contract for the establishing parking meters. Thus, the contract is out of place ab initio.”
“The JFAP is also of the view that the contract violates Section 274 of Chapter 28:01, regarding contracts. Neither has the JFAP seen and knows of any waivers signed by the Communities Minister regarding this contract.”
Speaking specifically about the terms of the contract, the party expressed concerns. It referred to these terms as constituting “a complete give away of the city and private persons parking rights.”
It also expressed support for Alliance For Change (AFC) Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan. The party called on the Mayor and those APNU Councillors who “abused” the Deputy Mayor to apologise to Duncan.
“The JFAP also condemns the unwarranted attack of the Deputy Mayor. The Deputy Mayor, who is also Chairman of the Legal Committee of City Council, must be commended for bringing the covert actions of the Town Clerk and the Mayor to light.”
“This contract and the action of some APNU Councillors have clearly brought disrepute to the good name of the APNU/AFC coalition. The JFAP reaffirms its support for good Government, transparency and accountability.” Failure to support Opposition’s motion
While JAPM has now expressed its opposition to the project, it is the second coalition party to reverse its position on the issue after refusing the support the Opposition when it brought a motion to debate the project in the National Assembly.
The motion, which had been tabled by People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Member of Parliament Irfaan Ali, had called for a debate on the transparency of the project
The protests against the parking meters
, method of procurement involved, terms and conditions of the contract, and the overall lack of consultancy with stakeholders.
At the time, the motion had not been supported by the coalition APNU/AFC. This had led to Ali accusing the AFC of hypocrisy when that party had also reversed its position recently.
Ali, who had tabled the motion, contended that the AFC cannot claim to be an innocent party, nor can it divorce itself from the collective decision by its Government when APNU aligned Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan signed the By-laws for the project to be implemented.
