Dear Editor,
Why was it not of concern to the Georgetown City Council from the very beginning that they were obviously dealing with middlemen rather than the source as it relates to this whole parking meter debacle? First they began dealing since 1995 with a representative from the National Parking Systems (NPS) Ifa Kamau Cush who is the chief executive officer of this locally-registered company, and who quite interestingly became the sole director of the company after the lone member of the board, managing director Patrick Triumph, resigned in April 2016. Why would the Council want to deal with a one- or two-man company for such a large project? This is not a small grocery store purchasing a couple of cases of canned mixed vegetables from a wholesaler. This is a city engaging in a major project. Clearly these are just two middlemen working for a commission selling parking solutions for a larger company. After questions began to be asked about the authenticity of this company which gave a fake address in New York City, we were then told that they were operating in association with another company, called Smart City Solutions Inc, which incidentally was registered on May 6, 2016 again with just two directors, Panama City-based businessman Simon Mosheshvili and the same Ifa Kamau Cush, and that the City Council had in fact entered into a contract with Smart City Solutions Inc and not National Parking Systems as persons were first led to believe. How then could the contract have been signed since November 2015 when this company was registered on May 6, 2016? It is no wonder this contract document is such a top secret document as it may have several versions and renditions. With further questioning we were then told that NPS has been absorbed into Smart City Solutions, which is owned by a Mexican Company – Operadora de Estacionamientos Bicentenario, S A de C V a third company introduced into the equation. If the mayor and councillors of the City of Georgetown has a shred of decency, they would scrub this very dubious arrangement, and put the process out to tender. In fact they would even reconsider the necessity for this parking through the process of consultation with the businesses and residents that reside in Georgetown. Is this what we the citizens voted for? The deputy mayor and the other councillors are spot-on to reject this controversial parking meter contract. By the way they need to revisit all the contracts that were signed for the last year, moreso the ones that the previous councillors would have hastily signed off before they exited.
Sincerely,
Shanta Singh
