Since adopting measures to deal with delays in the Construction Permit Management System (CPMS), the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) Department of Development Planning says it has cleared the backlog of 1 067 building plan applications in the system.
Since August, the department has experienced technical problems with the CPMS. Applicants were unable to download signed copies of building plan applications that were approved on the CPMS. This resulted in a backlog of applications at decision-making stage.
To resolve the issue, the department is encouraging all applicants whose building applications were approved on the CPMS, but who have been unable to download the signed copies owing to the technical problems, to bring two sets of copies of the plans submitted and approved on the system to the City of Johannesburg.
The hard copies will be verified against the applications submitted on the CPMS, signed and be ready for collection.
This arrangement will continue until September 30, with all hard copies being signed off at the Metrolink Building, in Loveday street, Braamfontein.
From September 5 to 16, the department processed 1 678 applications through the CPMS. Additionally, during these two weeks, 103 low-cost housing applications were also manually processed and approved, says CoJ Development Planning MMC Belinda Echeozonjoku.
She praised the hard work of the staff in the department, as well as the patience of the industry stakeholders with the system, reiterating the city’s Mayoral priorities of being a smart and business-friendly city.
Further, owing to load-shedding, the department cautions applicants that some of the stamped approved hard copies may not be available on the same day but can be collected the next day.