MPS CALL FOR REVIEW OF PAKANI SYSTEM, QUICK CLAMPING

MBABANE – Members of Parliament (MPs) have called for the parking payment system, known as Pakani, to be reviewed and the quick clamping looked into.

The MPs expressed discontent on the issue of paying for a parking space in town, stating that they paid for a specific time, but when they moved from the space they had paid for to another parking space, they were made to pay again without exhausting the initial time paid for it. The legislators were making submissions after the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Prince Simelane, moved that the House adopts the response to motion No.3/2022, which was detailing how motorists are charged for parking points and the time parked in Manzini. An analogy and a description of how the paid parking system is operated within the Municipality of Manzini was brought back to the House by the minister, which was informed by the Municipality Parking Bye-Laws 1998, that derives its being from Section 77 of the Urban Government Act 1969.

Inception

It was stated in the report that during the inception of this Paid Parking System in 2007, a fee of E2.50 was charged for the use of any parking bay with the designated parking facility. At that period, a manual system of payment was used where motorists were required to pay the gazetted E2.50 per hour, as and when they occupied any parking bay within the paid parking zone. These motorists would be issued with a parking ticket, which they would display on the dashboard as proof of payment. Motorists would be allowed to transfer or move around other parking bays for as long as the parking period paid for had not lapsed.

After over 10 years of the operationalisation of the paid parking system, it was felt that the time was now right for the full roll-out and improvement of the paid parking system. This meant that it was time to move from the manual system to a more technologically advanced system. The current operator was tasked with the responsibility to see to it that the system was improved to be in line with the regional and international operational systems, while at the same time not deviating from the operational bye-laws.

This then saw the introduction of an electronic parking system (hand-held gadget and parking bay sensors) to be able to properly and easily monitor, manage and operate the paid parking system. This brought with it the introduction of a prepaid card system over and above the cash payment system. The idea is to make this parking system as cashless as possible. The new user fees as gazetted in 2018 now stipulate a charge of E5 per hour, per bay.
The discontent from the legislators was that when one had paid the E5 parking fee for an hour and they decided to move from the space they had paid for to another one within the same town, they were made to pay again without having exhausted the time they had paid for it. Kwaluseni MP Sibusiso Mabhanisi Dlamini made a request that if one had paid the E5 per hour, but then decided to move from the initial space to another one, they should not be made to pay again but be allowed to exhaust the time they had initially paid for.

Economic

“It makes no economic sense to have to pay for a parking space just because you moved from the one you initially paid for. If one has proof in the form of a ticket, they should be allowed to park and exhaust the time they have paid for initially and only pay again if the time paid for has elapsed,” he said. He was supported by Lugongolweni MP Enos Magongo who also emphasised that motorists should be given the allowance to exhaust time paid for parking while one manoeuvres around town. Siphocosini MP Mduduzi Matsebula raised another concern on the issue of pakani, enquiring from the minister if it had reached his attention that some motorists were made to pay for parking fees dating as far back as 2021, yet the vehicle was only a month old.

Clamps

“Has the minister been informed that the pakani personnel clamps motorists, claiming their vehicles owed parking fees as old as over a year, yet the vehicle had been purchased a month ago,” he asked. Princess Phumelele was particular on the issue of quick clamping by the pakani personnel. She said at one time, she had to wait for at least an hour after her vehicle had been clamped, as no one was attending to her despite making a call to the pakani office for the officers to attend her. She revealed that half the time the pakani officers, particularly in Mbabane where the electronic payment system was yet to be enacted, were not at the parking space and when the motorists parked and left without paying, they were very quick to clamp the vehicle.

“The treatment we get from the pakani personnel is not good and there is a need to look into the payment system and review it,” she said. Mkhiweni MP Michael Masuku suggested that the ministry should ensure that the electronic system was also introduced in Mbabane as the capital city was still using the manual payment system, making it difficult for motorists. In his responses, the minister said it was in the operation policy of the current contractor that motorists should pay when they moved to another parking space despite having paid for the initial one. “We have heard the concerns of the MPs and we will engage the contractor on them and find a way to help the situation,” he said. He also shared that the ministry was benefitting only 25 per cent from the proceeds made by the contractor every month and if business was not going well, the ministry only received a sum of E42 000.

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