WITHIN 72 hours, the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CCC) will re-open consultations on the controversial parking meter project with a high possibility that the parking fees will be lowered as against the scrapping of the entire contract.

“We will meet within the next 72 hours to discuss the way forward,” city Mayor Patricia Chase-Green told reporters shortly after exiting a meeting with President David Granger at State House on Wednesday.

‘That meeting was also attended by the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams; Minister of State, Joseph Harmon; Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan; and the city’s Town Clerk, Royston King.

Chase-Green explained that the highly contentious project was discussed at the level of Cabinet, where a number of concerns were raised. Those concerns were put before the mayor and the town clerk when they met with the President and his ministerial team.
Describing the meeting as a very fruitful one, the mayor said based on the discussions, she has agreed to hold further consultations on the parking meter project.

These consultations will be held with the executing agency –- Smart City Solutions, the Private Sector Commission (PSC), the business community, and the regular citizens who may have concerns.

“I will meet with the wider cross-section of persons and see where it takes us,” she posited.

Questioned as to whether the Council would be willing to have the parking fees reduced following the consultations with those affected, Mayor Chase-Green said the council is open for discussions.

“I am not ruling out anything at this present time, we are opened for discussion…We are opened for discussions on all issues, including reductions,” she said.

But when asked if the Council would be willing to scrap the parking meter contract in response to ongoing calls by the Movement Against Parking Meters (MAPM), the mayor said, “no comments.”

The current parking meter system in place stipulates that between the hours of 07:00hrs and 19:00hrs, drivers, once desirous of parking, are mandated to pay in designated areas of the city, fees ranging from $570 to $11,400, VAT inclusive. The rate for parking is $50 for every 15 minutes, plus VAT. Although VAT has been reduced from 16 to 14 per cent, the company is still charging 16 per cent.

Commenting on the issue, the attorney general said the current parking fees attached are burdensome on the regular citizenry.

“I revised… (and) there was nothing unlawful about it, but what they had to do was to rework the figures …which they apparently did, but even so, the reworking appears to be over-saddling the ordinary working-class person,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Anti-Corruption, Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Seminar on Wednesday.

Later that day, after exiting the meeting with the President and the mayor, the attorney general said Guyanese can now expect “peace and consensus,” noting that it is possible that the parking fees will be reduced.

Amid the consultations, the parking meter project will continue to take effect. Since becoming fully operational, citizens have rejected the metered parking system, with countless parking spots remaining vacant on a daily basis. This has even prompted the town clerk to issue a statement asking citizens to support the initiative, which he believes will benefit the city.

Simultaneously, there is a “Say no to parking meters in Georgetown” movement calling for citizens to “starve the parking meters.” Several protests by this movement have been planned.

Additionally, an online petition introduced on Thursday has already received more than 300 signatures of citizens who reject the parking meters.

The petition states that most of the fines and measures which will be instituted, once the by-laws are approved, are “too high” in cost and have “unfair” penalties.

Should an individual fail to pay for parking while occupying a parking spot, his/her vehicle would be wheel-booted, and they will have two hours to pay a release fine of $8,000 + VAT.

If the individual tries to remove or interfere with the immobilisation device, that person could be fined $100,000 or spend three months in prison. After two hours of being immobilised, the vehicle would be towed and this would attract a towing fee of $12,000.
If the vehicle is damaged during this process, the individual will not be compensated by the M&CC.

The impoundment fee is $7,000, and each day the vehicle remains impounded, an additional $7,000 will be charged. Should an individual fail to pay these fines within 90 days, the M&CC can sell the vehicle at a public auction. Persons providing false or inaccurate names to wardens or city constables, run the risk of being placed before a magistrate and could be fined up to $50,000.