A Ministry of Finance (MoF) report has scathingly criticised the controversial parking meters deal for the city and says since government procurement rules may have been transgressed this would justify a revoking of the contract and a fresh process.
The report, seen by Stabroek News, could spell the end of the present deal between the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) and Smart City Solutions (SCS) but it has not been released and on Thursday the government focused on another report by the Attorney General’s Chambers which appeared more favourable to the parking meters arrangement.
It is unclear why neither of the two reports has been released by the government, given the importance of the issue to city residents. The July 2nd Ministry of Finance report described the deal in some areas as exploitive and labelled the city’s outlook on aspects of the deal as “ignorant.” The report also revealed for the first time that the secret contract struck between the M&CC and SCS last year grants fiscal concessions to the company which are not within the powers of the city and would now have to be addressed by Go-Invest, the Ministry of Finance and the Guyana Revenue Authority after the fact.
