THE Movement Against Parking Meters (MAPM) has congratulated the New Building Society (NBS) on the positive High Court decision received on the “illegality of the hastily conceived by-laws concerning the inept parking meter project.”

High Court Judge Naresh Harnanan on Friday delivered a decision that essentially renders the parking meter by-laws null and void, thus putting a pause on the controversial project for which re-negotiation was only recently completed.
“The NBS victory represents a victory for all those who stood up against bad governance and corruption. This outcome validates MAPM’s position that the parking meter project is an illegal one,” MAPM said in a statement on Tuesday.

Last February, subsequent to a legal challenge of the by-laws by NBS, Justice Brassington Reynolds ordered that “an order or rule nisi certiorari be issued and directed to Minister of Communities to show cause why a writ of certiorari should not be issued to quash his approval and/or decision to approve the Parking Meter By-Laws made under the Municipal and District Councils Act, Chapter 28:01, made on or about the 23rd day of January, 2017 in that the said approval or decision to approve was of no legal effect and was made unlawfully and in breach of statute.”

The M&CC, MAPM noted, continues to “obstinately” pursue the parking project as though it has already been paid for a service that is still to be rendered. “MAPM, likewise, will continue to reiterate the fact that the parking meter project is ill conceived and the contract and by-laws, which were illegally signed, cannot be used to give life to anything.”
The body said the decision of the NBS case proves that the current administration of Georgetown is unfamiliar with the tenets, principles and protocols of good governance.

MAPM is arguing that there still is no credible feasibility study presented to support the project. Further, there is still no transportation plan for the city. “But the mayor continues to lament the congestion and lawlessness permeating the city streets. She would have the citizenry believe that the only solution would be the installation of parking meters by SCS.”
MAPM said while it agrees with the need for parking meters, it must be part of a more comprehensive system and the issue of adequate enforcement by the Guyana Police Force must also be addressed. The process to implement any such system must also be

transparent, corruption-free and able to withstand scrutiny, the movement is contending.
Guyana signed on to achieving the UN global goals by 2030. The Sustainable Development Goals 11 and 16 speak to sustainable cities and strong institutions. “It is the considered view of MAPM that these two goals do not in any way inform the work of the city as there is no credible evidence that the current city administration has given a thought of how to make the city work for all its users and residents. Further, research and data analysis seem not to play any role in the decision-making of our city administrators.”

Meanwhile, Town Clerk Royston King has responded to the high court ruling, indicating that the City Council may be moving to challenge it before the Appellate Court. “The Council wishes to notify the public that it is actively engaged with its legal team. The Council is examining various options regarding the course of action to be taken, having regard to the ruling of the learned trial judge,” King said.

“The Council is of the preliminary view that the ruling exceeded the scope of the challenge brought by the New Building Society, and as such, it has not ruled out challenging same before an Appellate Court to test its soundness,” he further expressed. He said that in the interim, the Council will continue to examine all possible recourses, with a view to having a system implemented shortly to regulate parking in Georgetown.