–to review amended parking meter by-laws

THE Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has already contacted its lawyers in connection with the recently approved parking meter by-laws, so that a review of “troublesome” sections can be done and brought to the attention of authorities.
“We have to get our experts to go through these areas that we believe are not good for the city,” GCCI President Deodat Indar, told a news conference on Monday.
Indar and other members of the GCCI, Executive Director Richard Rambarran and Vice-President Nicholas Boyer, hosted the conference in partnership with members of the Movement against Parking Meters (MAPM) Komal Ramnauth, Don Singh and Marcel Gaskin.

Speaking at GCCI’s office on Waterloo Street,Indar said the team plans to submit those areas that are found to be “troublesome or ticklish” in the amended by-laws to Town Clerk Royston King and the City Council, and to Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan.
Indar said that during a number of walkabouts in the city recently, the GCCI was shocked to learn that business had declined by some 30 to 70 per cent. “So we want to make sure we do as much as we can to serve our members. There’s a 14-day period for us to respond, and we will do that,” he said.
Gaskin said it seems that the passing of the new set of by-laws is an attempt by the M&CC to correct flawed procedures.

“We have 14 days to register our objections and to submit these to City Hall, which, in turn will submit these to the minister. The minister may or may not consider our objections favourably, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it.”
Gaskin reiterated that the MAPM is not against installing parking meters in the city, but rather the manner in which it was foisted upon citizens.

Komal recalled that even the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) recorded a decline in revenue when the meters were implemented in Georgetown, and said it was really the country’s core taxpayers who were mostly affected.

While the City Council continues to insist that it has the right to install parking meters, and that it will do so come what may, Komal feels that the MAPM has accomplished quite a lot in helping to stall the official implementation.

Boyer said that businesses felt “punished” when the meter system came on the scene. “We at National Hardware saw a significant decline in our customer base, which really makes it hard on us to do what we’re supposed to,” the city businessman said, adding:“There must be some other way we can work together, but metered parking seems not to be it.”
Last February, the GCCI joined calls for the revocation of the meter contract, and said it believes that the business community and other stakeholders should maintain their protest efforts until the desired outcome is achieved.

In a statement, the GCCI said it is “irresponsible” for the City Council to continue with the metered system, due to a lack of transparency during the implementation process, a lack of adherence to public procurement procedures, and the absence of feasibility studies and citizen consultations.

“The M&CC should remember that one of the most important qualities that citizens seek in elected officials is transparency, and any attempts to bulldoze the populace with opaque contracts will not garner support, especially not from the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce,” the GCCI said.

The Chamber said it has received numerous complaints from its membership regarding the metered system and its negative effect on customer traffic and sales, and was concerned that conditions will worsen if the system remains in operation.
The Chamber also said it supports the M&CC’s efforts to engage in public-private partnerships for the purpose of raising revenue for the city, but will not support the flawed and, in some cases, potentially illegal methods that the City Council has employed.