Parking meter contract burdensome, heavily favours investor – govt

Last Updated on Thursday, 4 August 2016, 15:36 by Denis Chabrol

The Guyana government has found that the parking meter agreement weighs heavily in favour of the investor rather than the Georgetown City Council and has recommended that an accountant conduct an analysis of the figures.

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon said Cabinet on Tuesday considered reports on the parking meter agreement by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams and Finance Minister, Winston Jordan.

“The sum total of the finding was that there was nothing illegal about the contract and it appeared from a review of the documents that the terms and conditions were onerous and they were heavily in favour of the concessionaire,” Harmon said.

The agreement provides for City Hall to receive 20 percent of the gross revenue and the investor 80 percent, with the rate expected to be GYD$125 for 15 minutes of parking.

He added that the Attorney General recommended that the Mayor and City Council hire an accountant to review the rates and fees contained in the agreement between City Hall and National Parking Meter Systems.

Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan has since written to the Mayor and City Council, referring to the findings and recommendations by Cabinet.

City Hall hopes to start rolling out the parking meters in September, 2016.

Deputy Mayor, Sherod Duncan, who is from the Alliance For Change (AFC), had first raised serious objections about the parking meter system, saying that it lacked transparency and that the company was little or hardly known.