Govt. cutting red tape on building construction process

Oct 26, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – The ease for doing business locally and reducing red tape will soon become a reality, as the Ministry of Housing and Water, Central Housing and Planning Authority is moving the process along for the implementation of an automated Single-Window System for planning and building permissions.

Ministry of Housing and Water consultation session on the introduction for the single window process

Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Andre Ally, Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority, Sherwyn Greaves, Chairman of the Board, Dr. Emanuel Cummings, CH&PA’s Chief Development Planner, Germene Stewart and Single-Window Consultant, Fareed Amin joined key stakeholders for a consultation session.

In delivering the keynote address on the occasion, Minister Rodrigues noted the reform is necessary in respect of legislative amendments and streamlining procedures so that processing time for planning and building permits are reduced, as Guyana is now poised for economic take-off.

The Minister reiterated the need for clear timelines and enhancement of accountability and transparency, noting that the current system is primarily paper based.

With the housing and construction industry rapidly expanding, the Minister said that the PPP/C Government will be implementing a single window electronic processing system to improve the ease of doing business. Earlier this month, Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal has said Legislation for the system will be presented to the National Assembly by the end of the year.

“Today I am happy to report that Legislation to introduce the Single Window System will conclude by December and implementation will begin immediately,” Minister Croal said during a recent house lot allocation exercise in Region Six.

The Housing Minister noted that the Government has recognised that the increased demands for building permits and other services by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) and the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) require a more efficient solution.

Once the Legislation is in place, it will significantly reduce the time it takes to complete a transaction as well as steps within the transaction, standardise application forms and checklists, among other things. It will also see the Ministry transitioning from paper-based to electronic.

“The Ministry of Housing and Water through CH&PA and GWI is facing greater demand for its services. As you are aware, not only do we provide subsidised housing, CH&PA for example issues approvals and building permits for commercial and industrial purposes as well as executes town and country planning by way of zoning for residential, commercial and industrial areas,” he had explained.

He added, “As a result, there is a tremendous need for us to provide these services more efficiently, that is, we must reduce the time taken to conduct business with the Ministry.” The Ministry has already created an online portal which allows house lot applicants to upload their applications or update their information from the comfort of their homes. The Regional Offices to ease the residents travelling to the Central Office in Georgetown.

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