Bulawayo's CBD
Consumers are rational agents who can make choices based on a calculation of costs and benefits. Bulawayo City Council depends on consumers in their quest for generating revenue. The new parking system that the local authority implemented in partnership with Tendy Three Investments is another alternative of domestic resource mobilization.
However, a few observations from the public may be useful. It is prudent to argue in favor of motorists in Bulawayo, who, under all circumstances and where possible have boycotted the new city parking model. Consumers use boycott as an instrument to register their displeasure towards a product or service. The boycott strategy is a popular tool of expression in an authoritative environment. A passive force of resistance, one of the few forms of expression that civilizations can use without the risk of getting arrested. Unfortunately, the boycott strategy has not courted the heed of city fathers.
This case presents a microcosm of one of the many extreme challenges being experienced in Zimbabwe's second largest city based on local government decisions. It is a leadership whirlwind that is represented by decision makers in Bulawayo, but this solitary view is, of course, not entirely representative of Bulawayo's society. The article further provokes thought by examining the boycott strategy while at the same time presenting a balanced account that takes into consideration the concerns of the motoring public and the challenges that businesses operating in central Bulawayo face.
The Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association has already called on councillors to cancel the US$2.2 million parking tender it awarded to a South African company with no public consultations. The situation has brought ire to the business community in Bulawayo. Residents expect the local authority to approach problems differently but problem solving has not been easy for Bulawayo City Council. Policy reforms are not an end in themselves. They are a means to an end and therefore is it highly improbable for BCC to achieve the end without reforms?
All told, in an environment where demonstrations and petitions are recognized and considered, one would expect the responsible authorities to conduct consultations with relevant stakeholders to ensure a lasting solution to the parking crisis. In terms of the contract, Tendy Three Investments will implement and manage the parking system over a six-year period in a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangement.
The company has already been forced to review its parking charges from US$2 to US$1 per hour. The adjustments have been met with mockery by motorists and observers. The price is unjustified, it's just too high and motorists don't have the money. Another development is in progress, the company will soon be upgrading the parking system, an action that will see motorists being able to park anywhere in the city within the one hour they would have paid for.
Now, the reactionary measures are reflective of two important points. First, the fact that, the company has reviewed its charges, with a system upgrade on the cards is a clear illustration that the project lacks grassroot support and much needed approval from the targeted consumers. Second, the boycotting of parking bays by motorists is legitimate and the concerns raised are deserving of serious attention which appears to be lost in the local governing authority.
Our major problem arises from the polarized nature of our leadership and political environment. The model favors the elite and their associates who can afford the parking fees at the detriment of disempowered groups. This is a recipe for more inequality and has the potential of creating conditions for instability. Although motorists appear helpless now, they are not without power. Boycotting is one thing but it is by no means the panacea to this long-term problem. The will of the people is effectively expressed in one way- by voting.
Elected councillors have the obligation and responsibility to represent the will of people and not act against the will of the people. City fathers have the incentive to reconfigure the parking model for mass appeal. If the parking fee is pitched at a lower level, more motorists are likely to park in the CBD. Not only that, if there is a monthly subscription fee which is also low, more people are likely to subscribe.
A parking fee of $0.50 or less for 1 hour, attracting 1 000 cars is better than a parking fee of $1 attracting 10 vehicles in an hour. Those who are interested in buying their groceries or going to sit-in for breakfast or lunch at local food outlets will spend more than an hour trading. The same applies with those who visit clothing stores, hair salon, banks and remittance institutions. Generally, when I pay less, I barely notice it. However, I am probably one in a million consumers with similar buying patterns. Anyone would think twice if they feel like the price of a product or service is higher than expected.
The point is this: if Bulawayo City Council wants to raise more revenue from motorists, there is urgent need to reduce its figures and engage relevant stakeholders during the process. This consensus is very important and such reforms will probably attract more subscribers. The abandoned parking bays witnessed everyday in central Bulawayo is sufficient evidence to conclude that there is something wrong with the expensive parking arrangement and city fathers should solve the problem.
The local authority should rely on its consumers. People balk at high figures, but they will respond more favorably to lower figures. More significantly, however, motorists must accept that, their problems are systemic and will not be resolved by boycotts alone. The problems are a symptom of local governance weaknesses. One of the systemic weaknesses is that those in charge of the parking system have no incentive to make it better since they do not use it that much. Council officials have free parking bays next to the giant city hall car park. Not only that, those who work across the city hall have plenty of free, safe and secure bays under the revenue hall. They can afford to be nonchalant because they don't suffer the consequences of their decisions.
Motorists have had enough; the clamping of vehicles and the parking stampede experienced in areas where the parking system hasn't been introduced. These areas are conjested already, public transport operators and street vendors are overcrowded there, making it unsafe for children, the elderly and the disabled. Security is compromised as well and that is a major concern for motorists who park at owners risk.
BCC had a semi-computarised parking management system before, whereby motorists would voluntarily purchase computer recorded parking discs in the form of booklets for a very low price. Motorists would then display the discs on vehicle windscreens when in parking bays. That model was working, it just required creativity in terms of technology and monitoring the availability and validity of parking discs. Advanced innovations would have created a lucrative, smart and more profitable parking management system for the City of Bulawayo.
Now, there are motorists who had long-term parking discs, they expect compensation because they had paid in advance for the same bays that now cost $1 per hour. Apart from that, unlike the traditional parking meters that were used to keep track of the amount of time a vehicle is parked, the new model requires motorists to pay the same amount of money, whether you park for 15minutes or for an hour, the charge is the same. This is not fair at all.
According to a Bulawayo City Council June, 2022 'Masiye Phambili' publication, it notes that, since the project manifested itself as a Public-Private Partnership, (PPP), the matter was referred to the PPP Unit, a branch of the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency, (ZIDA) for further scrutiny. After ZIDA was convinced, the agency recommended the project to Cabinet which reviewed and approved the project.
The Public-Private Partnership has however created employment for quite a number of young people in Bulawayo. The development is commendable but the job should be meaningful for the young marshals. Tendy Theee Investments operates under the mantra 'World Class Smart Parking Solutions' but in Bulawayo, their smart solutions have drastically failed to solve anything but rather cause a local parking nightmare for motorists.
@stajicesimmz