Construction permits: $202M contract signed to develop IT solution for single-window system

…to be operational by June 2023

Doing business in Guyana will soon be made much easier with the signing of a contract to develop and implement an Information Technology (IT) platform for the much-touted single-window system for construction permits.
The $202 million contract was signed on Wednesday with Global Services – a Guyanese-led consortium with global experience – to make the issuance of planning and building permits hassle-free. The company will be tasked with providing a server and network infrastructure; security solutions; and hardware and software maintenance and repairs.

CH&PA CEO Sherwyn Greaves and Global Services representative George Melville sharing a light moment after signing the $202 million contract in the presence of Housing Ministers Collin Croal and Susan Rodrigues along with other officials

This single-window system is expected to be fully implemented and operational by June 2023.
Housing Minister Collin Croal explained that this initiative was not only transformative for the way in which business was done in Guyana but also allowed for transparency and accountability in the process of issuing these permits.
“Throughout the process, at every stage, we have accountability in terms of responding [to applications]…no longer will we be required to sit and wait forever for some officer at some agency to provide that feedback [on an application],” he noted.
The single-window system will feature five key elements including: one-window access to allow the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) to be the point of entry for planning and building applications; as well as a dashboard to show the status of individual applications and generate progress reports, which can also be accessed by applicants.
Another feature of the system is a time-bound element by which the relevant agencies will have to respond to applications otherwise they will automatically be considered approved.
Moreover, the scope of the development of the IT platform also includes the single-window system being built in such a way that allows for the accommodation of certain changes including add-ons in the future.
“While we may not have the capacity when this system is launched – for example, the electronic payments… that capacity will exist in the solution and can be turned on once we are ready. So, in other words, we are building a system that caters for add-ons as time goes [and] as we are able to implement other aspects to ensure that we have a fully automated system.
“Similarly, as we identify and remove redundant steps and make other changes in the planning process and development applications, the system will have the capacity to accommodate these changes… If there are additional changes, we don’t have to go out back and build another system or spend additional resources,” Minister Croal stated.
On the other hand, Minister within the Housing Ministry, Susan Rodrigues, said this single-window system was a demonstration of Government’s commitment to make doing business in Guyana easier by reducing the bureaucracy and red tape in the process.
She noted that this new system would also remove subjectivity from the process.
“No Guyanese or no investor does not have to fear any form of subjectivity, or do not have to fear that any public official will deny their application simply, because the public official doesn’t like them or any of that. So, it removes any bias from the system, it removes all subjectivity… It also removes any form of corruption from the system… So this tremendously eases that process of doing business,” Rodrigues posited.
Wednesday’s contract for the IT solution for the single-window system was signed by CH&PA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sherwyn Greaves and a representative of Global Services, George Melville, in the boardroom of the Housing Ministry.
Global Services along with its consortium partners have experience in similar IT development, working with the US Government and the cities of Los Angeles, Washington, and Detroit-Windsor – at the federal and provisional government levels as well as municipal; and in the Middle East with countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar.
“So, this is a team that we felt was the right team for this project,” Melville declared.
He went on to say that while his company was excited by the rapid technological change Guyana was undergoing, it was similarly encouraged by efforts of the Government to move this project along.
“We are very encouraged by all the steps that have been taken in terms of ensuring that the [process] is followed in a very transparent way, ensuring that the legal framework is in place by the passing of the relevant legislation in Parliament, ensuring that the right engineers are part of the project and ensuring that the local partner is involved throughout all the steps,” the company representative stated.
Earlier this month, Minister Croal presented the Planning and Development Single Window System Bill to the National Assembly, on December 5. The Bill is expected to come up for debate at the next sitting after which it is slated to be passed.
Meanwhile, a Steering Committee has been established to monitor the development of this single-window system to ensure that it is implemented by the June 2023 deadline. (G8)