Coalition government partner the Alliance For Change (AFC) yesterday called on the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) to suspend metered parking to allow an independent review of its contract, while saying that the current arrangements do not appear to be in the best interest of the citizens.
However, the M&CC yesterday directed all enquiries to the media consultant for the contractor, Smart City Solutions (SCS), Kit Nascimento, who offered a terse, “no comment.”
In a statement to the press yesterday, the AFC said it was neither supportive of nor against the implementation of metered parking in Georgetown but after monitoring the implementation of the M&CC and SCS joint venture it was of the view that the current arrangements do not appear to be in the best interest of the people of the city.
As a result, it urged the M&CC to suspend the implementation of the project and to reconsider the pertinent aspects of the Ministry of Finance’s review of the project as well as to seek a second independent review of its contract with SCS.
Stabroek News reached out to both Town Clerk Royston King and Mayor Patricia Chase-Green for comment on the AFC’s request and was told to direct all queries to Nascimento.
A reminder to the Town Clerk that Nascimento has been employed by a private company and not the constitutionally-empowered local government authority generated no response, while Chase-Green added that until such time as her office receives signed correspondence making the request, she will offer no response.
Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan, through whom the party says it has registered its concerns about the project, has expressed the hope that APNU, the other partner in the governing coalition will support the AFC’s call for a suspension.
While Duncan has expressed his willingness to bring a motion at the next statutory meeting calling for the suspension, he has said he hopes better sense will prevail before that time. “I hope that either the APNU will support the AFC or the Mayor and Town Clerk will respond to the will of the people,” Duncan said.
Since the announcement of the project, Duncan has voiced his concerns about the manner in which the contract was entered into and operationalised.
He has raised questions about the lack of sufficient prior consultation, the secrecy surrounding the contract and the absence of transparency in the procurement process.
Yesterday the AFC highlighted these concerns as well as the seeming lack of proper planning with regard to exemptions and the pricing and penalty structures as justification for the suspension. It also reiterated questions first raised in the Finance Ministry’s review about whether that the municipality may have overreached its authority on a number of matters, including taxation arrangements, traffic arrangements and road ownership.
“The party views this with alarm as it does the apparent exclusivity and monopolisation of metered parking in the city,” the statement said even as the party recorded its recognition of the autonomy of the M&CC as the duly elected representatives of Georgetown with the legal right to regularise parking in Georgetown and raise revenue to better manage the affairs of the city.
Since its implementation, the metered parking system has attracted stiff opposition from citizens, who have boycotted largely due to the cost. The business community, which has warned of losses due to the project, has also been critical of the manner in which it was implemented.
A concerned citizens group, the Movement Against Parking Meters, last week organised a protest against the project, which saw hundreds participating. However, both Chase-Green and King have been unmoved by the protests, while saying the project will deliver much needed revenue to the city.
