Last week I was approached by individuals who had grievances that, though different, shared a similarity: social injustice.
The first matter was brought to me by a member of the Movement Against Parking Meters (MAPM) in Georgetown who, despite not being opposed to the concept itself, objects to the shroud of corruption enveloping the Smart City Solutions (SCS) contract.
When asked what I thought of the entire parking meter fiasco, my response was simple: I don’t think Guyana is even ready for parking meters at this point in its history. It’s incomprehensible that the best project the M&CC can come up with to develop Georgetown is the implementation of parking meters, when the city itself lacks proper infrastructure, drainage and irrigation. Georgetown is unequipped with adequate parking for the growing traffic which augments congestion. However, imposing out-dated parking meters with exorbitant prices that take neither the current economic stagnation, nor the financial hardships of Guyanese into consideration is just irresponsible, if not tyrannical.
The only reason parking meters have made it easier to circulate in Georgetown presently, is because most people cannot afford to feed the green monsters and those few who can, prefer not to in objection of the M&CC’s high-handed corruption. Law and order couldn’t be what the M&CC and the Coalition had in mind when planting parking meters on every busy corner in the Capital, otherwise the country’s resources would have been used more intelligently.
Instead of injecting hundreds of millions into the ephemeral and subsequently useless beautification of Georgetown, projects to enhance the city’s infrastructure could have been launched. For instance, building elevated parking lots in strategic locations prone to traffic congestion, could provide a much more affordable alternative for road users, while installing modern traffic lights and smart itineraries might help to regulate traffic, in addition to creating jobs.
The myopia and evident cronyism of the M&CC that is being permitted by Central Government itself, not only comes at the expense of Guyanese taxpayers and their children, but is also revealing of the Coalition’s disregard for the deteriorating economy, human development and democracy. Interestingly, however, Guyanese, including those who voted for the Coalition in 2015, have already become fed-up of this failing Government that seems hell-bent on snatching the bread and butter from their lips. The number of petitions and protests uniting Guyanese across the political creed and against social injustice and Government corruption, condensed into such a short span of time, has rarely been witnessed in recent years. Even the Roman Catholic Church of Guyana was forced to publicly voice its disapproval on several accounts in December 2016.
The revolt of intellectuals and the Private Sector (including the Portuguese business community) against the M&CC, has led to one of the most massive demonstrations seen in Guyana in recent times. But while this seems to have scared Central Government into reducing the cost of parking, it has certainly not deterred the Coalition from its corrupt intentions and engagement with Smart City Solutions. On the contrary, it appears that the Coalition is keen on protecting its interests, while attempting to silence the growing malaise with a few crumbs, and this is probably one of the reasons for which the contract is still unavailable for public consultation. Corruption is also at the source of why national consultation was neglected and the informed consent of Guyanese was subsequently not obtained. However, since the deal is closed and shoved down the throats of generations of Guyanese for the next forty years or so, the Coalition can bury Guyanese and Georgetown’s economy now definitively stunted by empty streets and vacant parking lots.
Ifa Kamau Kush of Smart City Solutions has bluntly accused Guyanese of possessing the “mentality of slaves”, but sadly, those who possess the mentality of house slaves rather, are the Guyanese sitting on the M&CC and in Government, sealing deals with Massa to sell Georgetown out, even if it means whipping the skin off the backs of their own hard-working countrywomen and men, and with their own hands.
The slave mentality is best incarnated by this Coalition which seems inept at problem solving on a national level using local brains, and is more inclined to facilitate the greed of its foreign allies as long as it can fill its own pockets.
And this is why the house slaves over at the M&CC are allowed to insult Guyanese and democracy the way they currently are.
