City approves amended parking meters by-laws 13 – 2
- two councillors abstain, nine absent
The amended by-laws for metered parking in the City were approved yesterday afternoon by a majority vote of 13 to 2, despite pleas from three councillors to halt the process.
This would mean that less than half of the 30-person council voted in favour of the by-laws.
At a special meeting yesterday in the Chambers of the Mayor and City Council (MCC), the discussion, review and acceptance of the amended bylaws for metered parking in the City was the only topic on the agenda.
Starting off the proceedings, Mayor Patricia Chase-Green noted that the meeting was only to discuss and vote on the amended by-laws and that no other topic should be raised, including the highly controversial contract.
PPP/C Councillors, Bishram Kuppen and Khame Sharma, and Team Legacy member Malcom Ferreira were the only ones to raise any objections during their three minutes of allotted speaking time, while APNU Councillor Heston Bostwick used the time to voice his support for the parking meter project.
The voting concluded with 13 councillors voting in favour of passing the amended by-laws, while two others voted against – Kuppen and Sharma. Councillors Ferreira and Carlyle Goring abstained, while nine other councillors, including Alliance For Change Councillors Sherod Duncan and Lionel Jaikarran were absent.
Kuppen argued that since the by-laws are directly related to the contract then it must be brought into the discussion. The councillor was allowed by Mayor ChaseGreen to continue his contribution unhindered, and said that he is of the opinion that the MCC is still trying to validate a contract that is illegal and it “shouldn’t be allowed to go on.”
“The fact of the matter is that we are trying to approve by-laws for a contract that is yet to be proved to have come about in a legal manner. So, there were indications and statements made at the same council that this was approved by the previous council, but there is no evidence being produced so far to prove that and the fact of the matter is, due diligence was being conducted after the fact. When in fact it should’ve been done before the contract,” Kuppen noted, while highlighting that he was only in attendance at the meeting to show that the action of the council in pursuing the passing of the by-laws and the parking meter project is ill-advised, since there were no consultations with the Ministry of Finance, Cabinet or the Ministry of Legal affairs.
As a result, Kuppen said he could not see how any forward movement can be made. “It was supposed to have been tendered, and yet this council is forcing its way ahead to prove and validate a contract that did not come about in a legal manner,” he said.
Kuppen highlighted one of the amended clauses in the contract which gives the operator 40 years to conduct their business on the city spaces.
“This contract, even though it’s amended to 20 [years], it’s 40 years because the contractor has the right to renew for another 20, so each one of you will be on record as putting this on the necks of the people of Georgetown for 40 years. This is not a fair contract,” Kuppen