Sunday June 26, 2016
Kaieteur News
PAGE 33
(From page 32) Head of State acknowledged Government has allowed the death penalty to remain in the statute books, but made it clear that no one has been executed in a couple of decades. In fact, the last execution in Guyana was conducted on August 25, 1997. The President said, “…Some feel that the death penalty is a deterrent and some feel that it is not…some feel that the death penalty is perhaps best kept on the books as a last resort…but David Granger does not have any intention of approving the execution of anyone.” While there is no single statement out of the Government on whether it will abolish the death penalty, the President said that in due course, his administration will arrive at a position. GOVT. HALTS PARKING METER DEAL UNTIL CONTRACT THOROUGHLY INSPECTED – BULKAN Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan has promised that Central Government will intervene in the ongoing parking meter fiasco at the Georgetown Mayor and City Council,(M&CC) to ensure that Guyanese get the best deal. The Minister said that the Council will essentially have to put a hold on plans to implement parking meters, given the lack of transparency surrounding the transaction. While the central government intervention in the matters of local government is not something that he would support, in light of the significant moral and financial implication of such a contract, the minister said that the Council is asked to stay their hand until greater clarity can be made on the initiative. Bulkan, the Minister responsible for Local Government in Guyana, said after meeting with councilors who expressed their views on the issue, a request for the contract has been sent to Town Clerk, Royston King. But the Minister is yet to receive the document, which was requested about a week ago. Bulkan however expressed optimism that the Council will cooperate with Central Government. ”I don’t believe the Council would want to adopt a confrontational attitude towards the government. Besides, the deal can only be approved with the support of the entire council.” The announcement of the parking meter project was made recently by M&CC’s Town Clerk, Royston King, who said that since November, the city had signed a contract with Smart City Solutions Inc, a company collaborating National Parking Systems” (NPS) to install solar-powered parking meters in critical areas of Georgetown. The company is said to have invested tens of millions of dollars in preparatory works, including bringing engineers from its headquarters to determine traffic volume and occupancy. TUESDAY EDITION AUDIT EXPOSES BRASSINGTON’S SCAM IN STATE ASSETS SALES An Audit into the operations of Property Holdings Inc. (PHI) has revealed an unhealthy practice, where the entity would award properties to the second and third highest bidders. This was usually the case when the first and second highest bidder withdrew. PHI used to be controlled by Winston Brassington who was also Director/Chairman
for about 13 other companies. Auditor Charles Sugrim has “strongly recommended” that PHI cease this sort of practice that was condoned under Brassington. Surgrim reported, “PHI did not consider re-tendering of properties when the highest bidder withdrew. In some cases there were prior bids for the same property at a higher price.” The auditor pointed to an instance where the difference in price between the highest bidder and the second highest bidder was $146M. The highest bidder withdrew, and the property was offered to the second highest bidder. The boards of PHI and the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) approved the sale of a Water Street property to J P Santos & Co Ltd for the amount of $215M after Laparkan’s withdrawal of its $361M. The proceeds were split between PHI and Guyana National Shipping Corporation (GNSC) in a ratio of 65:35. This was because the building was owned by PHI and the land owned by GNSC. Surgrim pointed out that “on the withdrawal of the bid from the highest bidder, there was no attempt by the boards of PHI or NICIL to re-tender for the property.” The auditor pointed to another instance where a property was offered to the third highest bidder when the first and second highest bidders withdrew their bids. The difference between the highest bid and sale price was $61 million. Also, the tendered bid price was reduced in the final sale price. The property in question was the zinc bond which Sugrim pointed out is very prominent on Water Street. Sugrim reported that in 2003, after the bids were opened, the highest bidder Hoon Sookraj withdrew his bid stating that his bid was on the incorrect property. Sookraj did not state which property he was bidding on. Subsequently, the second highest bidder, Savitrie Seodat withdrew her bid “without giving any reason.” CONTROVERSIALPARKING METERS DEAL…CONTRACT SIGNED BEFORE MEXICO’S DUE DILIGENCE TRIP -CONSORTIUM PAID FOR PLANE TICKETS, HOTELS City officials have vowed to steam ahead with plans to introduce parking meters with the first rollout expected by September 1st. The disclosures were made, Monday, during a press conference by top officials of the
Mayor and City Councillors of Georgetown (M&CC) who also said that a recent trip to Mexico and Panama was to complete its due diligence of the contractor, “National Parking Systems/Smart City Solutions”. This would have been months after the contract was sealed last November. The officials claimed that it would not have been proper or ethical to visit Mexico and Panama before the contract was signed. The trip and hotel stay for the delegation were paid for by the consortium Present at the event were Mayor Patricia Chase-Green; Town Clerk, Royston King; Head of the Finance Committee, Oscar Clarke; Finance Committee member, Junior Garrett, and other administrative officers of the municipality. The officials came under fire recently for a trip to Mexico and Panama to check on how the consortium was managing the parking meters there.
People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Clement Rohee The issue has been dominating headlines with Deputy Mayor, Sherod Duncan, saying that he could find little evidence of the two companies and their work. NPS is owned by US-based Guyanese, Ifa Kamau Cush, who had submitted a proposal since 1996, Mayor Chase-Green said Monday. Checks by Kaieteur News had found that NPS did not have an office at the Park Avenue, Manhattan address that it listed on its website. There was also little information on Smart City Solutions Inc., the company with which Cush teamed up. According to the Mayor, based on the trip
to Mexico and Panama, she is confident that the consortium has what it takes to successfully manage parking meters around the city streets. In the initial pilot phase, M&CC will be targeting a pilot project that will include South Road, Regent Street, Stabroek, Camp Street and Church Street that will see the creation of 1,500 parking spaces to be controlled by solar-power meters, Chase-Green disclosed. The consortium is reportedly promising to invest US$10M. According to Clarke, much of the controversy that has been swirling around has been unfounded and hearsay. SOLE SOURCING…DON’T DO WHAT WE DID – ROHEE TELLS GOVERNMENT Following the controversial allocation of a contract to implement parking meters to two companies without public tender, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary, Clement Rohee, is warning the administration not to go down the same road as the PPP. He said this during the party’s weekly press conference Monday. When reminded, however, of the party’s track record in public procurement – notably the drug contracts which New Guyana Pharmaceutical Company (GPC) received without tenders - he made it clear that the PPP can still criticize the Government. ”Yeah, well, that (accusation) may have been leveled against us, but that’s the previous administration. But now they are in the Government and they have to face the music if they do it as well. That’s the nature of politics.” ”If you criticize the then administration, for not doing what you felt should have been done, and then now you get into government you doing the same which you had criticized the previous government on, then obviously it behooves the now opposition to criticize you for double standards.” ”You said you would not have done it, were you in the government. But you continue to do it now that you are in the government. Therefore we are not going to close our eyes; we are going to be similarly critical.” Saying that the party has been warning the current administration about going down the road of sole sourcing, Rohee stated that the contract should return to tendering. He described it as a case where the administration appears to be going full speed ahead on matters, oblivious to public (Continued on page 34)