Dear Editor,
On Thursday, February 9, I joined a massive protest at City Hall to oppose the Parking Meter Project which has recently been implemented in Georgetown. The protest saw Guyanese of all races, religions, cultures, professions, ethnicities and political affiliations at one location, calling for transparency, fairness and a retraction of this deal between the city council and Smart City Solutions. I was protesting in principle. I am not against parking meters; I think that it is a good thing. But it should be at the right time; it should come when our economic status has improved, when the oil money is flowing and the standard of living has risen. We must not forget that we are one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere.
Important to note is that when governments or cities introduce parking meters it is usually done after they have established a proper public transport systems and facilities with private partnerships, enhanced by a subway system. It is unfair to have an improper transport system in this city and install parking meters. I could imagine all the people who are sacrificing revenue to own a vehicle and then having to pay an entire vehicle instalment to park in Georgetown. It is absolutely ridiculous.
Governments usually forget that they are hired by the people and so the people can fire them! If all the business people and their staff came out in numbers and stopped working and resisted this project, then both the local and central government would have to listen.
From the initial stage, the city council should have had the Attorney General study the contract which would have ensured that Georgetown received the maximum benefits possible under this project. A more puzzling issue is that we are liable if we retreat from the contract. My view is that the entire project must be cancelled. I also believe that the intentions of the signatories to the contract were sinister and conspiratorial. I believe that they should face a commission of inquiry.
The project appears to be a form of vengeance against the people of Guyana, specifically the residents and visitors to Georgetown. The language used by Ifa Kamau Cush, one of the original principals behind the controversial parking meters, demonstrated a lack of respect for the people of Guyana. It is a pity that the city government agreed to give 80% of the earnings to this foreign company which cares nothing about Guyana. When the Movement Against Parking Meters calls for another protest, I will be there to support my fellow citizens and I hope more will join this movement. I call for businesses to shut down for the two hours and let their workers and management listen to Ralph Ramkarran and be part of a non-violent and silent civil disobedience movement.
We should never forget that we can fire a government whenever we want to: central or local. We the people are the bosses. If the city council was strapped for cash then a small fee of $100 or $200 could have been added to the driver’s licence and the revenue licence which could have been given to the coffers of City Hall. At this point, we are just not ready for parking meters. Most Guyanese are not against the ideology of parking meters as there are many benefits, however the fees are too high and it is too sudden and drastic.
Yours faithfully,
Roshan Khan
