adminWhen a Chronicle crew arrived at City Hall there was a chain barricade erected at the entrance with municipal police officers and cashiers in civilian clothes on guard to receipt payments.
The charges range from $1 for small vehicles for a period of zero to 30 minutes and $2 for heavy vehicles for the same time.
The development has irked motorists who expressed dismay over the issue and accused the council of ambushing them.
“I was shocked when I came here to be told that I was supposed to pay a dollar for every 30 minutes that I was parked,” fumed a motorist who declined to be named.
“The council should look for alternative revenue collection methods than this daylight robbery. I had limited the time to spend with my daughter while she was waiting for the bus to school.”
A mini-bus operator, Mr Martin Tshuma, who was waiting to ferry Minda High pupils to school and had been parked for over an hour also expressed concern over the new development.
“This is strange and it is the first time anything like this has happened. I have been parked here for over an hour waiting for pupils to come and all this money has to come from my pocket,” he said.
Buses were the hardest hit as they rank for longer periods.
One bus driver who was ferrying pupils to Thekwane High School and had been parked for over four hours was livid as he lamented the eight dollars plus he was to fork out.
“This is robbery at its best, this was going to be better if we had been made aware before than to be hit with this bombshell on arrival,” he said.
The council’s senior public relations manager, Mrs Nesisa Mpofu, said this was not a new development as it was on council plans for some time.
“This is a move that has been in the pipeline for some time as we sought other ways to generate revenue. The fact that it coincided with schools opening is a pure coincidence,” she said.
Mrs Mpofu said a notice was placed in the media recently alerting the public of the development. She noted that it was a permanent move.
She said tickets for parking would be sold to institutions like schools and colleges that frequently use the public parking lot for convenience purposes.
“Quarterly tickets will be availed for unlimited access to the parking lot for only $39 at the Revenue Hall and frequent users of the car-park like colleges can get them so as to ease on the cost,” said Mrs Mpofu.
Online Reporter