Agencies will soon start training on single-window system – Croal

…says project on track to be operational by June

Training for the various agencies that have integral parts to play in the building process will soon begin, to ensure that once the single-window system is operational by June month end, there would be no hiccups with persons using the system.

This is according to Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal, during the recent budget debates in which he gave an update on the Information Technology (IT) platform for building permits – for which a $202 million contract was signed last year. He also referenced the Planning and Development Single-Window System Bill that was passed last year.
“We have brought legislation to this House, for the establishment of the single-window system for development permits. This piece of legislation was highly anticipated and it paves the way for a more cohesive, less bureaucratic and more efficient system for the submission, processing and approval of all planning and development applications.”
“As we speak, the IT consultants are here in Guyana conducting meetings with the technical staff, as well as the 16 other partner agencies which are named in the legislation as they are part of the application process,” Croal also said.
As the Minister put it, the legislation and the single-window system that will be developed, are expected to end the “burdensome, bothersome and endless running around” that home builders and contractors often encounter during their building projects.
“They lose valuable time and expenses from printing and reprinting, chasing after a piecemeal approach to various agencies to enquire on their approvals. Shortly, we will be conducting sessions with various agencies and our partner agencies so that they can be familiar with the new process.”
“This new system will bring more efficiency and therefore, it will lead to greater transparency. This project is on schedule and is expected by the end of June, we will be going live to fully launch the IT platform.”
The $202 million contract was signed in December 2022 with Global Services – a Guyanese-led consortium with global experience – to make the issuance of planning and building permits hassle-free. The company was tasked with providing a server and network infrastructure; security solutions; and hardware and software maintenance and repairs.
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.
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. (G3)