The Housing and Water Ministry is moving to implement a single window system to end the running around citizens face when applying for development permits. Making the disclosure this week was Minister Collin Croal during his contribution to the recently concluded 2023 budget debates.
The Housing Minister noted that when the system comes online this June, some 17 agencies involved in the permit process will be able to access each other’s data. This, he explained, will bring relief to persons who have to move back and forth among agencies. The Housing Minister bemoaned the loss of valuable time and money homebuilders, contractors and investors lose when moving from one agency to the other. He also spoke about the reams of paper and ink that are used to print and reprint documents due to disjointed data access.
Croal said that the system is also geared at addressing the uptick in service demands at agencies such as the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) and the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA). He credited the demand for services to the “housing boom”, the country’s expanding oil and gas sector and the government’s massive infrastructural undertakings.
Guyana Standard understands that IT consultants are in the country conducting meetings with the technical staff of sister agencies under the ministry, with orientation sessions slated to begin shortly to familiarise staff with the new system.
Croal told the House that the system will be backed by law, referencing his December 5, 2020 tabling of the Planning and Development Single Window System Bill. With the system online, persons will be able to submit planning and building permits and check the status of their applications from anywhere in the world via an electronic portal.
