Rohee says consultation on city parking ‘a must’

In light of the ongoing controversy surrounding the Parking Meters Project initiated by City Hall in Georgetown, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is calling for widespread public consultations on how the city addresses its parking woes.
This call was made by General Secretary of the PPP Clement Rohee at the Party’s weekly press briefing on Tuesday.
Rohee was asked whether the Party would support parking lots in the city as opposed to parking meters, to which he responded saying that no support will be given to any initiative undertaken without public consultation.
“We don’t support any of the two so long as there are no consultations with the people,” he said affirmatively.
The General Secretary noted that the question of resolving the parking situation in the city requires wide consultations with all stakeholders so that whatever decision is taken is done in the interest of the people who will be affected.
“There must be broad and wide consultations with the citizens of Georgetown and the consultations must be public-like town hall meetings. Then they must publish what came out of the consultations so that others who didn’t go should hear,” he remarked
Moreover, the PPP General Secretary outlined that another important factor that needs to be taken into consideration is the collection of revenues from either parking meters or parking lots.
“Anything that has to do with the payment of monies… we have know how that is going to be in place also because if a person is going to walk around with a receipt book, we all know what could happen,” he stated.
However, Rohee opted not to pronounce on whether his party will support either initiative, noting that he cannot preempt the outcome of the consultations, which he maintained is crucial.
Only Monday, during an address to Councillors of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC), President David Granger suggested that the Council consider introducing parking lots in the city to address the congestion.
The Head of State did not make any mention during his address to the ongoing controversy surrounding the Parking Meters Project. Over the past weeks, City Hall came has come under fire for signing the contract with National Parking Systems/Smart City Solutions Inc.
Many persons, including Councillors, have raised concerns about the lack of transparency in the deal, which they claim appears to be a shady one aimed at exploiting the local populace.
In fact, Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan had stated that he could not find proper information about the company or any records of it providing parking meter services in any other country.
However, President Granger told the City Councillors on Monday that his Administration will continue to support the Council in their drive to push the urban development agenda, however it will have to be transparent and accountable in its operations.
In light of the parking meter controversy, Cabinet has ordered that the Legal Affairs Ministry and the Attorney General’s Chamber review the contract between City Hall and the Guyanese-owned companies.