— Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry urges

AFTER meeting with the Movement Against Parking Meters (MAPM) last week, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) is calling for Government to immediately revoke the parking meter contract.
“… the GCCI… supports the MAPM’s Movement Against Parking Meters’ position and strongly calls on the M&CC [Mayor and City Council] and the Government of Guyana to immediately revoke the current parking meter contract between the SCS [Smart City Solutions] and the M&CC,” GCCI said in a statement on Saturday.

The business chamber said at the meeting with MAPM on Wednesday the movement was made aware of the “significant downturn in economic activity” as a direct result of the introduction of paid parking and other issues in Georgetown.
The parking meter system, which was introduced last year by the City Council, has been overwhelmingly rejected by motorists who believe the fees are too high,and others who believe the awarding of the contract lacked transparency.
Public pressure forced intervention by the Government which ordered a suspension of the project for three months.

This was done to facilitate another round of consultation and to adjust rates which President David Granger has described as “burdensome”.
At the meeting last week, GCCI said it discussed several other pertinent issues in relation to the metered parking system.
Among those issues were, inter alia: the absence of any feasibility studies done on the project prior to its implementation; the complete lack of transparency in the process; failure to demonstrate thorough and comprehensive consultation with Guyanese,and failure by the M&CC to make public all feasibility studies conducted.

In light of this, GCCI is requesting the M&CC and Government to make public disclosure of documents which prove that the tendering process used in the selection and award of the contract to SCS was fair and transparent.
GCCI also wants the local government body and the Government to make public all reports, minutes,etc. from stakeholders’ meetings held prior to the implementation of the parking meter project with SCS; and for them to provide details regarding which stakeholders and organisations the M&CC will be consulting during this round of consultations and a timetable of this.

The GCCI also noted that while it welcomes the suspension of the project, it supports MAPM’s position which is for the M&CC and the Government to “immediately revoke the current parking meter contract”.
Additionally, GCCI is calling on the Government and the M&CC to implement a “fair and transparent” process that involves all stakeholders with regard to the procurement and introduction of a parking system in Georgetown.