With most motorists boycotting street parking in Harare
city centre yesterday morning and shopkeepers counting severe losses, Harare
City Council reversed the US$1 an hour new parking charges and reverted to $20
an hour.
Few people were parking in the city centre in the morning,
either parking for free in nearby suburbs —
a 15-minute walk away — or taking their business to flourishing and
expanding suburban shopping centres with their free parking in the northern
suburbs.
City Parking, the private company set up by the city
council to manage street parking, parkades and car parks, unilaterally hiked
its charges to US$1 an hour, although people could pay in local currency at the
auction rate, a staggering $63,75 an hour and easily the most expensive in the
entire Sadc region.
The Herald understands that yesterday Harare Mayor
Councillor Herbert Gomba and management engaged City Parking officials and
agreed to actually start consultations on new fees that are rational and
cost-effective.
Fees in the poshest parts of Johannesburg and Cape Town are
more in the line of R50 a day, making even the $20 an hour on the pricey side.
The belief that all those empty spaces in the morning were
part of an informal boycott was strengthened as the news of the reversal
spread, and large numbers of cars appeared in parking slots in the afternoon.
Although the city council and City Parking have been
expanding the reach of paid street parking, it is still possible to find free
parking within a 15-minute walk of the city centre, especially to the east and
west.
In the last two to three decades, most major corporate
headquarters have left the city centre for office parks in the northern suburbs
and investors and developers have built or expanded huge shopping complexes in
the suburbs, again concentrating on the northern suburbs.
This change in business has seen the city centre more and
more hosting smaller businesses that bus passengers, especially those stuck in
the city centre while they wait for a connecting bus to their final
destinations, might use.
Harare City Council spokesperson Mr Michael Chideme
announced the council decision on the backtracking of the new fees.
“Council as the sole shareholder in City Parking has
engaged the business unit following widespread complaints over its new parking
tariff,” he said..
“The shareholder (the council) has shelved the utility’s
move to charge US$1 or its equivalent until proper consultations are done . . .
In the meantime, parking fees revert to the old rate.”
In a separate interview, Mayor Gomba said a balance would
be struck between affordable services and viability of City Parking.
“We all want fairness in terms of the parking fees and I
know for a fact that the city parking board and managers would be willing to
listen to the concerns being raised by our concerned public,” he said.
“The company has been contributing to the city renewal
agenda, affected by the economic challenges faced by all, that as it may be, it
is fair to ensure a balance between survival and fairness.”
The Harare Residents Trust said it was pleased that its
voice and that of other motorists had prevailed against autocratic governance
and management of public affairs.
“Motorists therefore will for now continue to pay the $20
per hour that they had been paying to City Parking for parking in the city
centre.
“Well done City of Harare for your listening to the voice of
reason. The decisions by public bodies should be made in an inclusive manner.
Autocracy does not work in public policy,” said the trust.
Even on social media platforms, including Harare City
Councils’ Facebook page, people hailed the reversal.
Tinashe Nyamukapa posted, “You definitely need to work on
your decision making process. Things are tough for Zimbo’s and yes the new
tariff was highly punitive and unrealistic considering the salaries that people
are getting. Thanks, however, for realizing your error.”
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