– When parking meter system begins

THE parking meter system that the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) wants to implement in Georgetown will no longer come on stream from September 1, Mayor Patricia Chase-Green has said. However, when it does become a reality, the cost will be less than $200 to park per hour, she told the Guyana Chronicle Wednesday. The delay in meeting the September launching is due to a review of the contract that was undertaken by the government recently.
According to Chase-Green, the M&CC wants to ensure that all of the recommendations coming out of the Ministry of Finance and the Auditor General’s Office are met.
City Councillors were on Monday each handed a copy of the review of the parking meter contract that was undertaken by the two agencies and a special meeting will be convened for discussion of the recommendations.
Town Clerk Royston King distributed the document to the councillors at the statutory meeting and observed that a meeting to have the recommendations discussed is in order so that the Council can know how to move forward with the parking meters.
The Mayor had lamented the fact that even before councillors were afforded the opportunity to peruse the document, some sections of the media have already published reports coming out of it.
“The most important part of the mandate of the Ministry of Finance and the Attorney General’s office is not being highlighted in those reports. But when you have your copy in your hand, you will see it. I’m happy that it came out that there is no irregularity, or illegality in the contract. For some reason that is not being peddled in the media” Chase-Green told councillors.
Cabinet Secretary Joseph Harmon, at a post-Cabinet media briefing, had told reporters that government decided to review the controversial parking meter contract to ensure that there are no illegalities based on the complaints that were being made.
The contract for the implementation of the parking meters project was signed with National Parking Systems (NPS)/Smart City Solutions early in May.
Harmon had assured that government’s decision to review the contract was by no means an attempt to interfere in the affairs of the City Council. “If they claim there is something wrong or there is something illegal, then government has a responsibility to look at the contract itself to see whether there is anything in the contract that closely resembles the complaints by citizens.”
He said government supports the efforts of the City Council to garner revenue while reducing congestion on city streets, but that government’s intervention is necessary because Georgetown is the Capital City.
According to Harmon, Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan briefed Cabinet about the project, noting that whatever the outcome, it is the citizens who will be affected.
Maintaining that City Hall is an independent body, Minister Harmon said, “It is a young Council and we believe it must operate independently.”
When asked whether government would lend its voice to the amount that should be charged for the use of the meters, Harmon said, “The issue of rates, whether too high or low…are issues for the Council itself.”
Mayor Patricia Chase-Green had said that the Council is currently reviewing the rate to be charged and that although $500 per hour to park was initially touted, the cost will now be way less than that.
Parking meters are to be installed on every street between South Road and Church Street, Water Street and Camp Street.
Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan has publicly declared that the parking meter project is a shady one. He said the mere fact that the City Mayor has refused to reveal the details of the contract to city councillors and make the contract public, suggests that something sinister is taking place.
“So much has been shady with regards to the contract and how it will be rolled out. “What is so special about this contract that it cannot be shared with the public? Who would steal it? Another country? Another municipality? It doesn’t make sense,” Duncan opined.
Chairman of City Hall’s Finance Committee, Oscar Clarke had said the City Council does not need to seek permission from anyone to have the project implemented but it was only out of a matter of courtesy that the minister was contacted.