The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has reportedly concluded plans to re-introduce its ‘Park and Pay’ policy on May 1, this year, which was banned seven years ago by an FCT High Court, following massive outcries and litigation. PAUL OKAH in this report wonders whose interest the policy will serve.
Going back memory lane
The “controversial” Park and Pay policy was introduced in 2012 by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and licensed four companies, including Automaten Technik Haumann Nigeria, Safe Parking Limited, Integrated Parking Services limited, and Platinum Parking Management Services to collect parking fees from motorists within the city centre.
The fees, according to the FCTA, are meant to be used for maintaining roads and other services in line with global best practices, while the policy was also introduced to check road abuses and indiscriminate parking.
Under the policy, motorists were compelled to pay amounts ranging from N50 to N650 when they parked their cars beside or along the roads in the city centre. When cars were clamped for ‘violation’, owners were forced to pay between N5, 000 and N4, 000.
However, the policy was in 2014 resisted by some residents who decried the high handedness of operatives and also queried the ownership of companies being used for ticketing and enforcement, even as some approached an FCT High Court to stop the FCTA from further collecting fees from residents for on and off the street parking within the metropolis.
Also, apart from face-off with implementers of the policy, especially allegations of exploitation, many people were of the opinion that the fines were too hefty in some cases and in others, too draconian, in addition to the fact that people were not being given enough grace period before their ticket expired.
Many residents further alleged that sometimes the collectors/operators would hide and allow a driver to park, then avoid coming to issue a ticket, but come out immediately the driver leaves to lock the tyre/clamp the vehicle and then demand N5,000 fine when the car owner comes out.
As a result of the numerous complaints and legal suits, on April 17, 2014, the FCT High Court, presided over by Justice Peter Affen, declared that though the scheme was an excellent government policy, it lacked a legal status and should be discontinued.
The re-introduction
On April 13, at a press conference in Abuja, the acting secretary of the FCTA Transport Secretariat, Usman Yahaya, said the historic plan to re-introduce the ‘on-street parking policy’ in the territory was part of efforts to free the streets for better traffic by curtailing the rate of wrong parking in the city.
The acting secretary frowned upon the clamping and towing of vehicles that later became the order of the day, which according to him informed the jubilant reactions of the public, when the court suspended the scheme. He, however, assured the public that the licensed operators that would begin the implementation of the policy were repentant with a promise to serve residents well.
“Prior to the judgement, the scheme was riddled with so many complaints. The operators were variously accused of many underhand activities ranging from unprincipled, dubious, deceitful, unprofessional and unscrupulous acts. It was based on these shortcomings that the Suntrust Savings and Loans Ltd., challenged the powers of the FCTA to impose levies on motorists that park their cars on FCT streets.
“Justice Peter Affen in his judgement, commended and described the ‘park and pay scheme’, which was introduced for the purpose of effective traffic management as laudable but ruled that the scheme was unknown to the FCT laws. He blamed the authorities for not backing the scheme with adequate laws,” he said.
Continuing, he said, “Investigations from both the authority and the public revealed that the activities of the ticketing clerks contributed in no small way to the public disdain for the scheme. Ticketing clerks were variously accused of intentionally making themselves unavoidable whenever motorists were in need of their service.
“The on-street parking management was suspended in 2014 as a result of an FCT High Court ruling that declared the operation illegal because it was not specifically mentioned in the 2005 FCT Road Transport Regulations.
“The scheme was riddled with so many complexities, the operators were accused of many ill acts, but we have resolved the issues, so in May this year the scheme will kick-off. The on-street parking scheme which will be managed by four companies will commence in May 2021.
“In the past seven years, the Administration had embarked on various measures aimed at addressing the concerns raised by the Court and the public with regards to the scheme, the FCT Administration in collaboration with its legal team produced FCT Parking Regulations 2019 to amend the parking section of 2005 FCT Road Transport Regulations. The four operators will cover the whole Federal Capital City, which will be divided into districts for proper enforcement.”
Motorists’ take
In separate interviews with Blueprint Weekend, many motorists and residents kicked against the proposed return of the policy, citing the situation of the economy, past experiences of extortion, high-handedness and human rights abuses on the part of the service providers.
According to a civil servant, Mr. John Okeke, the situation of the economy will not allow civil servants to afford the exorbitant rates charged by the authorities in the past if it reintroduces the policy.
“I was alarmed when I read in the news last week about the proposed return of the park and pay policy in the FCT. Seriously, I consider it another way of exploiting Nigerians, considering the fact that the economy is bad at the moment, with the effects of Covid-19 still being felt and inflation recorded daily.
“This is a bad time to add to the expenses of Nigerians. When the policy is introduced, it will bring about many problems, as witnessed years ago. This is because Nigerians are already angry and facing many challenges. Imagine adding other expenses to them; it is not funny. The FCTA should reconsider it, except if they want to be selfish,” he said.
For Halima Musa, despite its being an avenue to make money for the FCTA, it should not be re-introduced due to the ugly experiences on the part of both motorists and implementers.
“I have always said that our leaders are very selfish. I see no reason for the FCTA to consider re-introducing a controversial policy other than adding to the burden of Nigerians amidst the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. The policy was controversial years ago and was banned by the FCT High Court, so they should leave us alone. Besides, the money made from the venture years ago went into private pockets,” she said.
Similarly, a civil servant, Nathaniel Bassey, said though the return of the policy would help in restoring sanity to the FCT, the Administration should be circumspect in its implementation as “once bitten, twice shy.”
He said, “Many may not know the implication of the reintroduction of the park and pay policy on May 1. It was controversial just as it was also of benefit to the FCTA. While the FCTA used it to shore up its revenue, motorists were not finding it funny and were right in complaining and kicking against it.
“However, it is said that the FCTA has concluded plans to reintroduce the policy. My advice to the FCTA is to ensure that all the negatives that trailed the policy are ironed out. It will be just unfortunate if it is banned again as a result of more complaints, just like in 2014. May God help us in this country as the re-introduction of the policy will lead to more expenses.”
