MEMBERS of the Movement Against Parking Meters (MAPM) have said that a mere reduction in the cost to park via the highly controversial parking meter system in Georgetown will not suffice to solve the issues that have arisen.

The MAPM was formed by Guyanese who share the same convictions regarding the new system that has been implemented by the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) and Smart City Solutions (SCS).
“We are Guyanese united against parking meters! A project forced upon us without consultation, due process of competitive bidding and evaluation,” explained the mostly social media group.

Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase-Green, on Monday announced that by Friday, City Hall is likely to announce officially that the rates for use of the parking meters have been slashed by half. This means that citizens will now pay $100 plus VAT per hour. As it stands before the official announcement, Chase-Green clarified that motorists are still required to pay for the spaces, but will not be booted if they overstay their time.
One member, Christopher Chapwanya, told this newspaper on Thursday that a mere reduction in fees and fines cannot effectively address the fact that the tender and procurement process was breached.

He pointed out that government did a review of the project and concluded that there are “serious” flaws within the contract. “So there’s a high degree of lack of transparency of the contract, as the government review cited numerous flaws,” noted Chapwanya.
He said the Movement’s call for a complete revocation of the project, as opposed to just a reduction, is not only in keeping with the government’s findings but with those sentiments that have been expressed by the Alliance for Change (AFC) and other responsible members of the government.

Chapwanya said in his view, it is only the M&CC which seems to be pushing for the implementation of the project. “The Movement is not against parking meters but against the way this project was conceived and is riddled with corruption.”
Another MAPM Member, Marcel Gaskin, expressed concern about those employees who may be working in the city and must pay to park. He reasoned that if an employee should pay for nine hours of parking each day, this would amount to roughly $20,000 a month, and about 18 percent of an average employee’s salary.

“This is still extremely high as compared with the developed world. The reduction is not good enough; it’s just an attempt to appease people,” said Gaskin in an invited comment to this publication last evening.
He observed, too, that something seems wrong with the way business is being done by SCS. “If the company had done its feasibility study, it would have been aware of the market and set its prices accordingly. But I can’t see how you can come down from $500 initially for an hour, to $200, then to $100.”

“So the Movement is not inclined to accept the reduction as a solution to the problem. There are still issues with the contract, lack of public consultation and a feasibility study, etc.” continued Gaskin.
In an earlier interview, he had told Chronicle: “We’re not accepting a reduction. What we want to see is the feasibility study, the impact study, the due diligence of SCS and the evidence of the tender process that was done to select SCS. If they can’t produce these things, then we’re asking that the contract be revoked.”

He said the issue is not about fees alone, but deals with transparency and accountability.
The Movement will continue its protest in front of City Hall on Thursday at noon, and the mayor has been invited to answer questions from the public at St. Stanislaus College on Saturday at 3 pm.