Latest update May 12th, 2024 12:59 AM
Apr 29, 2017 Letters
Dear Editor,
My letter here is concerns the parking meter situation. First of all, in USA, the GOVT has control of some things like Immigration, Tax, Minimum Wages, Medicaid and many others, and they are known as FEDERAL LAWS. No County, City or State could override any FEDERAL LAW. In Guyana we do not have FEDERAL LAWS, but we do have Central Government, which is responsible for important matters, such as Passport, VAT, Drivers licence, and other important things. Something as important as PARKING METERS should fall under CENTRAL GOVERNMENT and override CITY COUNCIL’s JURISDICTION.
Some thing to look at is how many countries in this part of the world have parking meters? Trinidad is a rich oil producing country and does not have parking meters, (Guyana is 42 1/2 times bigger than Trinidad and they have 1.3 million people, yet they do not have parking meters). Venezuela is one of the world largest oil producing nations and do not have parking meters. Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and does not have parking meters. They say the money from the meters is to maintain the roads; that is wrong. The money from motor vehicle road licenses is to build, repair and maintain the roads.
In New York, there are parking meters, but only in commercial districts, (where there are businesses on the first floor of every building). There are no meters in residential areas, neither in areas known as MIX (where there are both businesses and residential homes). For example, there are meters on JAMAICA AVE. in QUEENS, but none in JAMAICA AVE. in BROOKLYN, that is because in QUEENS, the first floor of every building on JAMAICA AVE., is a business. There are no meters on JAMAICA AVE. in BROOKLYN, because some of the first floors are business and people live on the first floor of some of the buildings.
The time for paying for the meters in NY is from 8am to 6 pm, except on Sundays, and on Federal and State holidays. If a traffic cop passes by and sees that you did not pay, he will leave a traffic ticket on your windshield and you have 7 or 30 days to pay. And if a next cop passes by and sees that you have already got a ticket, he will not issue a next ticket for the same date; only if your vehicle is still there on a another date (day) then you will get a new ticket for the new date. They do not clamp your wheel nor tow your vehicle, neither there is there a tax or (VAT) on the fine.
Can anyone please say which other country charges VAT and clamps your wheel, tows your vehicle and makes you pay storage for 24 hours, then, sells your vehicle for non-payment? Mr. President, you are head of Central Government and we call upon you to order the revocation of the parking meter; you do not have to get permission from City Hall. Georgetown not only belongs to City Hall, it belongs to DEMERARA, BERBICE and ESSEQUIBO, it belongs to all Guyanese and Guyana is too poor to have parking meters; it affects businesses and is a strain on all of us. If there is one thing that will cause your Government to lose the next election, it will be the PARKING METER.
Mohamed Azad
Listen how to run an oil country
May 12, 2024
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