Dear Editor,
Those against the parking meter contract have argued, rightly so it appears, that the contract was awarded by the Mayor virtually single-handedly in breach of procurement legislation and protocols. They also claim that the charges are exorbitant and out of reach of most Guyanese. I consider both arguments to be a mere smokescreen for other reasons to oppose the contract. This is because the initial irregularities were remedied and council adopted and espoused the contract. The initial charges for parking on the streets were drastically reduced to the lowest that can be charged considering the investment. But the protests continue. Do right-thinking citizens accept that those protesters who manage to organize special attire, uniforms, etc, cannot afford to pay parking meter charges? It is not true.
Editor, allow me point out that the parking meter project is an investment that is designed to benefit Georgetown in several ways. It is not a secret that it is an investment for the company and the company expects to earn a profit after recovering its investment costs. It a form of foreign direct investment for Guyana, although I heard someone on TV swearing that foreigners should not be allowed to take over the city. Really? I could not help but ask myself why the good gentleman is not investing in anything to enhance the profile of the city instead of shooting down an investment just because he thinks the company running the parking meter project is foreign. However, what I gather from the newspapers is that the company is also partly owned by Guyanese citizens. Foreign direct investment earns the country the much needed foreign exchange that is required for us to import what we do not produce. This is the first reason the parking meter business should be supported by all Guyanese.
We all know that the Mayor and City Council are supposed to earn a percentage of the parking charge as revenue for the city council. For those who do not know, this revenue helps to clean the city, open up the drains and water channels and maintain the roads, among other things. If the Mayor and City Council are not allowed to raise revenue, how else shall these social services be provided? I hope the protestors have answers.
The parking meter project is also expected to regulate parking and traffic in the city. Already this has been happening in areas where the parking meter rules were being enforced. Not only do motorists secure parking spaces easily, but there has also been smooth flow of traffic on major roads because reckless and illegal parking in the wrong spaces had been eliminated by the project. The city was beginning to look organized and it appears the protestors benefit from disorganized and congested roads. This they can best answer themselves.
Personally, I do not underestimate the role of the parking meter project in reducing crime in the city. The theory here is that when parking is not regulated, criminals use the opportunity to park at strategic places like banks, offices and other points where they can watch and wait for their target. It is easy for the criminals because they can park their vehicles anywhere for as long as it takes, and trail the victims at will. The parking meter project largely removes this opportunity, since criminals no longer have to wait on the road and at street corners, where parking is prohibited; and they cannot afford to park their vehicles at one spot the whole day planning where and whom to pounce on. The streets, without the parking meter project act as convenient ‘offices’ where criminals plan and later take off to execute their criminal ventures. Do protestors wonder why there seems to be less crime in the city during this short time we have had the parking meters? Maybe they are too preoccupied with protests and they cannot see this.
It is also obvious that the parking meter project provides employment for some Guyanese. It does not matter that only a few youths are employed by the company. Any one Guyanese in regular employment is one person more out of trouble. The project should be supported to employ more young men and women, instead of frustrating it.
Yours faithfully,
Ed Paulo
