On 28 August 2008, it was announced that Livingstone will be an adviser on urban planning to Caracas, Venezuela. He will act as a consultant on the capital's policing, transport and other municipal issues. As a friend of Hugo Chávez, Livingstone was appointed personally by him to advise officials and mayoral candidates in Caracas, in order to help transform the city, which journalist Rory Carroll described as suffering from, "Gridlocked traffic, a crumbling centre, hillside slums, horrific murder rates, corrupt police and inept local government". Livingstone reckoned that in twenty years a "first-world city" can be made out of Caracas, stating, "I have a very extensive network of contacts both domestically and internationally which I will be calling on to assist in this." No decision on a salary for the ex-mayor has been made, although he mentioned that, "The whole cost of this trip has been paid for by the government of Venezuela and as an unemployed citizen I would not be able to pay for my own fare otherwise." The appointment follows on from the controversy surrounding the deal brokered by Livingstone in February 2007 for the Greater London Authority and Transport for London to provide advice to Venezuela in exchange for cheap fuel to help with bus subsidies. The deal was later overturned by new mayor Boris Johnson, and Livingstone offered his services to Chávez so that Venezuela gets the "advice that we promised". Livingstone played down any accusations that his close relationship with the Venezuelan President was controversial, "unless you believe American propaganda", while a spokesperson for Johnson said, "Ken Livingstone is free, as a private individual, to offer his advice and services to whomever he wants." Livingstone is now being touted as a key asset for Chávez in the upcoming November elections in the country.