Parking meter contract stinks to high heaven

Dear Editor,

 What a flip flop and a complete waste of time. The Fantastic Four has now announced that for the first time in almost one year, that copies, purportedly of the authentic original controversial parking meter contract, will be officially released to the remaining City Councillors who were prevented from receiving this secret document.

 There are several salient points that the City Council and even the Minister of Communities fail to understand. First, there has to be a new contract. There has to be the revocation of the City Hall-Smart City Solutions agreement because there was no competitive bidding, nor were there any consultations with stakeholders prior to entering into this very flawed contract. This contract stinks to high heaven.  So, it started off on the wrong footing and, therefore, cannot now be adjusted to be placed on the right footing. The contract is illegal, as it never had the Council’s authorisation and cannot be made legal retroactively even with adjustments.

 Second, none of the four persons originally involved in the deception and notorious arrangement in the first place should be allowed to participate in the review process. If they have any decency, they should recuse themselves because of a potential conflict of interest and lack of impartiality.

 Third, before the Council could even consider another revenue source such as fees from parking meters even if it is a paltry and shameful 20 per cent, they must have their books audited and their accounts qualified first and foremost.

 The country is overtaxed at the moment, and the reintroduction of a crooked parking meter contract will be the proverbial ‘straw that will break the camel’s back’.

Sincerely,

Mark Roopan