Gov’t still unsatisfied with Parking Meter Project

The controversial Parking Meter Project again this week engaged the attention of Cabinet. According to Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, the Government is not satisfied with steps taken by the Council to ease the burden on citizens.

Addressing journalists at his weekly Post Cabinet Media briefing on Friday (March 10, 2017), Harmon noted that cabinet has agreed to conduct further consultations before making a final statement on “what the involvement of the Government is, in this arrangement.”

“We still need to be satisfied about some matters in relation to the contract itself, and the way how the matter is being dealt with….Once the Government is satisfied with all of the information before it, then we will make a decision about the City Council itself,” Harmon said.

It’s over one month since President David Granger, convened a meeting with the City’s Mayor, Patricia Chase-Green and Town Clerk, Royston King about the Project and cries for it to be revoked. The meeting saw the Council making amends to the tariffs to make it less burdensome and commenced engaging stakeholders on the project.

The Government is not the only unsatisfied party as the Movement Against Parking Meters (MAPM) on Thursday (March 09, 2017) entered its sixth week of protest against the project.

Dressed fully in black and white costumes, protesters held a mock funeral in front of City Hall for not only the Parking Meter, but also the accompanying By-laws and City Hall. Replicas of the three items were carried in makeshift coffins by persons dressed as ‘Undertakers’ during the one-hour protest. The funeral was also not without mourning as one would at an actual funeral.

The scene resembled another mock funeral enacted for former Acting Town Clerk, Carol Sooba in 2014, by persons who now sit in the leading chairs of the council.

The protestors began their call for the complete revocation of the project some six weeks ago, given several issues surrounding its origination and subsequent implementation. However, recent critics have suggested that the weekly one-hour exercise has become more of a “show” as opposed to what it was meant to be.