Drivers in the City of Kigali (CoK) have another headache to contend with. It’s related to parking. They had become used to the parking attendants who prowl the streets sticking parking vouchers on windscreens but are nowhere to be seen to collect payment leading to unnecessary fines.

Now with the introduction of car-free zones in the Central Business District and many "No Parking” signs strewn along other streets, parking has become a daily nightmare.

The logic of banning parking along many city streets cries for comprehension; in most developed countries, parking space is the goose that lays the golden egg. Parking metres contribute a sizeable chunk of many municipalities’ revenues and that is where Kigali city authorities should shift attention.

Instead of littering the city with "No Parking” signs, CoK should install parking management metres. This will not only streamline the parking policy, but it will also return sanity on our roads.

The current parking attendants would then patrol the streets inspecting the metres’ data and distributing parking violations if necessary at the same time provide security against vandals and petty thieves.

With the advance in technology, parking management would run smoothly. Clients would even be able to pay online or use smartcards for their parking and cut the red tape in revenue collection.

But turning around the parking puzzle should be every mayor’s nightmare until they come out with viable solutions for a better functioning and efficient city. And it is urgent.