REPRESENTATIVES from several Neighbourhood Democratic Councils, the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and the Town Council within Region Six turned out in their numbers on Tuesday to participate in another round of consultation for the soon-to-be-launched Single Window Planning and Development System.

The consultation was held at the RDC Reg. 6 Boardroom. It was facilitated by the lead consultant for the project, Fareed Amin, Business Analyst, Kevin Sukhdeo, and the Ministry of Housing and Water-Central Housing and Planning Authority staff.

The activity aimed to ensure that local authorities are equipped and ready to play their role in making the Single Window Planning and Development System effective.

Mr. Amin noted that the strengthening of capacity within the various local authorities is key to making the system efficient. During the session, several issues were raised, including fee structure and the need for paper-based applications to be accepted, even as NDCs build capacity to be fully operational with the requisite IT solution.

The Single Window Process is a move by the government to integrate agencies’ approaches to services, increase efficiency, and significantly reduce the processing time for planning and building permission. With work ongoing on the IT solution and the Single Window Bill passed in the National Assembly, the system is expected to go live on July 1 of this year.

The legislative framework now paves the way for, among other things, standardized application forms and checklists, as well as minimising the time for completing a transaction.

Further, the electrical portal will enable investors to submit planning and building permits and check the status from anywhere around the globe, as this new mechanism forms part of the Government’s attempt to increase the ease of doing business and foster a business-friendly environment.

Over the next few days, a number of other regulatory agencies, government and private sector bodies will be engaged in another round of consultation.