THE Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (GCCI) Executive Management Committee is requesting an urgent meeting with the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) to discuss the pressing matter of the introduction of a parking meter system in Georgetown.The Chamber had earlier made this request and its Management Committee last Friday sent correspondence to the M&CC reiterating its call for the caucus.
In a strongly worded correspondence to the M&CC, the Management Committee asserted: “As Guyana’s leading private sector business support organisation, the Georgetown Chamber has a responsibility to serve as an avenue of information and communication between government agencies and our members. We are therefore requesting that a consultation forum between the M&CC and the private sector, as promised, be convened immediately to resolve the matter at hand.”

CONSULTATIONS PROMISED
The Chamber recalled that during a meeting with the M&CC on June 3, 2016, the proposal for a parking meter system in Georgetown was mentioned and the M&CC had promised that before this arrangement was finalised, a number of consultations would have been held with the stakeholders of this project, one of them being the private sector. However, one month later this has not materialised, the Chamber said in a release.
The Chamber said too that following the June 3 meeting, there have been numerous stories in the media in furtherance of the parking meter system which includes rates and details of the agreement between the M&CC and a collaborating company. The body reasoned that due to the lack of communication between the M&CC and primary stakeholders, not all of the information published can be verified.
“Our members are made up of businesses of all categories, all of which will be unjustly and adversely affected by the parking meter system due to the costs,” the GCCI said. It affirmed also that before any binding arrangements are made, due diligence must be performed and that includes the consultative process.
“The private sector must be provided with basic information regarding the parking meter system; and we must also be given an opportunity to provide critical inputs and recommendations,” it said.

NO OPEN TENDER
Further, the Chamber declared that it is also deeply concerned about the M&CC’s failure to follow proper public procurement procedures in the form of an open tender process to attract various proposals that will be best for Guyana.
It concluded: “The Chamber expects the M&CC to operate on the principles of transparency, democracy and accountability, and as such, we anticipate a timely response to this urgent matter.”