Parking meters to be removed from public schools environ

…as burden continues on motorists

The Mayor and City Council (M&CC), the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) and Smart City Solutions have come to an amicable solution regarding the parking meter system, with a decision to have the meters removed from in front of public schools.
With that removal, a decision was also taken that there would be no more setting up of meters in front of public schools in the city.parking meter 1
These decisions were taken during a meeting between the three bodies on Thursday. A joint press statement stated that after giving due and special consideration to the critical and fundamental role that teachers play in the education and development of the nation’s children, vehicle parking spaces immediately in front of the public schools will not be regulated for the purpose of metered parking.
The GTU had on Monday held a meeting with representatives from Smart City Solutions Incorporated (SCSI). The concern was over teachers being required to pay for parking in front of public schools.
GTU General Secretary Coretta Mc Donald had said that having a vehicle is not a luxury for some, but a necessity. Pointing to the fact that even teachers at the nursery school level drove, she stated that this was an unfair situation when teachers’ salaries have remained inadequate and the cost of living in Guyana was already high.
“You are rolling out parking meters in Guyana, what (they) take into consideration outside of having consultations with various entities?” she queried. “I’m not sure that this was well thought out,” McDonald stated following the Monday meeting with SCSI.
Members of the GTU had also held a vigil on Tuesday evening, signalling their discontent with the parking meters. That vigil took the crowd to the residence of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, who is currently acting as President.
After a meeting with the protesters representatives, the Prime Minister later came out and addressed the crowd. He explained that while he did not have all the answers for them, he would raise the matter with Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan. Meanwhile on Friday, GTU President Mark Lyte welcomed the decision to ease the burden off of teachers. “The Guyana Teachers’ Union is pleased to inform all its members that no teacher in the public school system will be required to pay for parking their vehicle while they teach the nation’s children. In fact, no other parking meter will be placed in front of schools. Those schools where parking meters have been placed already will see them being removed,” Lyte said on a Facebook message.
He continued by thanking the Mayor and City Council, along with Smart City Solutions for granting the request. The manner in which the parking meter contract, signed in November 2015, was arranged with National Parking Solutions/SCSI has attracted heavy scrutiny in the press.
Subsequently, the Finance Ministry and the Attorney General’s Chambers conducted reviews of the contract to determine its practicality and legality. One of the observations of the Finance Ministry had been that “the contract has given complete monopoly power to SCSI over parking within Georgetown. This control could lead to exploitation of consumers as SCSI has the power to change fees arbitrarily and determine zones.”
The fees amount to at least $200 an hour. The minimum time a motorist can purchase is 15 minutes. Metered hours are Monday to Saturday, from 07:00h to 19:00h (7am to 7pm).