President David Granger will tomorrow address the statutory meeting of the City Council where he is expected to raise a number of issues.
Asked on the Ministry of the Presidency’s programme, “The Public Interest,” what his key message will be, Granger indicated that the continuation of the urban renewal works which started last year is at the top of the list. The President said he recently engaged members of the Diaspora in New York and visiting diplomats, who have all said that they are pleased with the city’s cleanliness and highlighted the clean drains, the removal of solid waste and clearing of Stabroek Square.
“These are all aspects of urban renewal and I would urge City Hall next week to continue that,” Granger said. He added that he will also urge the council to look at minimising “slums and squatter settlements” so that together with central government, they will embark on a housing project which can help indigent families move out of the “blighted areas of the town and go into decent housing.”
On the programme, the President also spoke about the controversial parking meters project and described the proposed parking rate as burdensome. He said government is taking a look at the secret contract out of national interest and to ensure that there is transparency.
“I am not privy to the contract, government has asked to see the contract [as] obviously we want to protect the national interest and there has been an outcry,” Granger said. He noted that the city council has the authority to make decisions independently but also expressed disappointment at how the matter has been handled.
“I am disappointed that there are members of the council who feel that they have not been consulted,” he said. Among those who have spoken out publicly on the parking meters contract is Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan.
Duncan and some councillors have rejected the project, raising a series of concerns including that there should have been a competitive process, the competency of the contractors, National Parking Systems/Smart City Solutions (NPS/SCS) as well as the secrecy surrounding the deal. The contract has not been made available.
A trip to Mexico by Mayor Patricia Chase-Green, Town Clerk Royston King and councillors Oscar Clarke and Junior Garrett has not helped. All four have sat on the City Council for the last 20 years.
Granger stated that the whole purpose of having democratic elections is having democratically-run councils so “as far as the government is concerned we will insist that there is greater transparency. We cannot overrule the council.”
However, he said notwithstanding that the council is an independent body, government can ask for transparent procedures to prevail.
Granger also said that the proposed parking fee was too much for a poor person. “The rate is a burdensome amount for a poor person…It is a high amount of money to pay. I am concerned that is why I said the Minister of Communities has been asked to examine the contract and the condition under which the agreement had been made,” he said.
Chairman of NPS Irfan Cush, who had signed an agreement with the City Council to install parking meters around the city, had told Stabroek News that the proposed fee is $125 for 15 minutes.
A person working five days a week for eight hours would have to pay $500 per hour which amounts to $4,000 per day or $20,000 per week.
Granger said the reduction of the rates is a question for the municipality.
