The Sunday Mail
I HAVE personally had a thoroughly unpleasant time at the hands of Harare City Parking.
There are instances where I have been slapped with fines that I did not understand, but as a law-abiding citizen I duly complied.
It usually does not make any sense to argue interminably with people if you have pressing work commitments. But more fines continued to pop up.
It left me with no option but to visit City Parking’s offices. They hived off part of it, not all.
I would imagine that such forms of opaque revenue collections cannot be supported by any rational person.
Most often than not, motorists are being made to pay for offences that they may not have committed.
This is not fair at all; it compromises the integrity and ethics of the city parking system.
It, however, seems that most of the challenges in the current system stems from what parking marshals call the “log out system”.
Motorists, by virtue of their very mobile nature, usually expect a seamless system where it is convenient to readily settle one’s due when leaving the parking bay.
After finishing their business in town, motorists usually just drive off.
Time is money.
In most cases, the parking marshals may not be readily available and by the time they log a car out – in this case for cars that might have left the parking bays a long time after – the vehicle might have accrued extra charges, and this is unfortunate.
But who really is responsible to ensure that the car is logged out? Is it the client or the parking marshal?
I believe parking marshals have to be attentive to customers all the time. After all, they are paid precisely to do that.
Customers are being prejudiced by being billed unnecessarily.
This is daylight robbery.
Also, it seems that City Parking is ill-prepared to deal with clients that might have high-denomination notes, which really boggles the mind.
There are instances where motorists have had their cars clamped after being told by parking marshals to settle their bills when they are done with their business in town.
While at face value this might seem to be a reasonable proposition, when officials from City Parking’s loss control department carry out their routine checks they will disregard whatever undertaking that would have been made between the parking marshal and the motorist.
They will simply clamp the vehicle and one would have to part with US$57 to be unclamped.
The fact that the guys are grossly unreasonable at times and very inflexible is obviously disturbing.
Again, this is totally unfair to the motorist.
One can be forgiven for thinking that this behaviour is simply meant to augment revenue collection.
In the same vein, corrupt cases where motorists offer parking marshals money in order for their cars to be kept in parking bays without paying the proper fee must also be condemned by all those who aspire to a corrupt-free nation.
Here, all parties are to blame.
City Parking has parking discs that are solely meant for companies and they cost $10 per booklet.
This should also be extended to ordinary motorists as this seems like a better arrangement to pre-pay for parking. It also guarantees less hustles with parking marshals.
The company should endeavour to increase monitoring and surveillance at most of its parking bays to ensure that the interaction between parking marshals and motorists can be audited.
The Zimbabwe National Road Administration has since done that at almost all of its tollgates.
I am certain that every $1 per hour that motorists pay can be re-invested into the business precisely for this purpose.
In developed countries there are way better systems for parking.
Digital tags have been widely used in advanced economies.
In such instances a motorist can prefund his or her account and then log in as and when they park.
They can log in and log out on their own without having to deal with parking marshals.
Such systems exist and they can be developed and used in Zimbabwe.
The Chicago parking system is considered as one of the best, if not the best in the world.
I believe local authorities have the capacity to replicate the same and more funds should be channelled towards the development of a world class system that will give motorists less headaches.
Taurai Changwa is an Articled Accountant and ACCA finalist. He is managing director of SAFIC Consultancy. He writes in his personal capacity and can be contacted at [email protected] or on facebook page SAFIC Consultancy or whatsapp on 0772374784.
