Dear Editor,
As we count down to the expiration of the suspension of the Georgetown Metered Parking By-laws, the residents of Georgetown and citizens of Guyana have not been bestowed with the courtesy of a communication from the Mayor & Councillors of the City of Georgetown (M&CC) or the government through the Ministry of Communities as to what to expect. The silence although deafening, is admittedly, not at all surprising since this seems to be the new standard level of respect which our elected officials feel we as voters are entitled to. The ‘Fantastic Four’ at the M&CC buttressed by a council which is unable or unwilling to do otherwise, seems poised from all indications, to reinstitute the metered parking system in Georgetown once given the green light by government through enforcing the said by-laws, the legal framework upon which metered parking rests. In the three months’ suspension nothing meaningful has taken place. The council held purported consultations at times when it was difficult for the general public to attend, nor was there any outreach.
The Movement Against Parking Meters (MAPM) from all reports discharged their self-imposed duty to the citizens of Guyana. They appeared before the mandated committee and systematically and competently refuted every talking point of the M&CC. Notably, the aforesaid events are all taking place while proceedings are still pending in the High Court with regard to the legality of the by-laws and the contract. But even if deemed legal, the damage has already been done.
The project has been an undoubted failure to the point that it cannot be salvaged. The embarrassing details emanating in the media as to the irresponsible and vulgar spending of the M&CC do not further its cause. With all that has taken place and has been unearthed since the institution of the metered parking system in Georgetown, it would have been enough in any other civilized society for the elected officials to back-peddle on the project. Not so in Guyana! So we the citizens of Guyana wait in fear of the ambush of the ‘green monsters’, but not in a cowardly fashion, as I have no doubt my fellow citizens will once again resist if there is a recurrence, and this time put the ‘green monsters’ to rest, permanently.
Yours faithfully,
Sharon Lalljee-Richard
For Movement Against Parking Meters
