Full public debate on the proposed installation of parking meters in the capital was called for yesterday by the Private Sector Commission (PSC).
In a statement, the PSC said that the contracting company and the contract details are blanketed in secrecy and appear to be questionable.
“These must be fully disclosed for public scrutiny. The PSC, therefore, cannot and will not support this attempt to impose parking meters on the population until there has been full public debate and support for the matter”, the statement declared.
The PSC’s statement is the latest searing criticism of the Mayor and City Council’s (M&CC) plan to install parking meters which has triggered controversy and division even within the city council.
According to the PSC, it holds the view that the M&CC, in particular Mayor Patricia Chase-Green and the “select few she has chosen to surround her, has only themselves to blame for the controversy which have arisen on the matter of installing parking meters in the city of Georgetown.”
It charged that the Mayor, in the first place, has isolated her deputy, Sherod Duncan, and other City Councilors from participating in the process of arriving at this decision. This is unacceptable and unwarranted. Duncan has been vocal in questioning the opacity surrounding the deal and the bona fides of the contractor, National Parking Systems/Smart Cities Solutions. The PSC said it also believes that an initiative of this scale, impacting on the entire citizenry of the city and beyond, “demands public consultation, transparency and open debate”.
The PSC also said that President David Granger has “quite properly questioned the rates to be charged and has expressed the view that these rates may be a serious burden beyond the reach of the average person.”
