THE Ministry of Housing is pressing ahead with a digital ‘single window’ system to speed up the delivery of important housing services to citizens.

Speaking on the recent edition of the Starting Point programme, Minister of Housing, Venessa Benn, said that families applying for land or housing have had to shuffle between agencies for multiple stamps, signatures, and site visits.

Even as the ministry surpassed its goal of 50,000 allocations, the system was facing a bottleneck of unresolved applications.

In 2024, the government launched the Electronic Planning and Development Single Window system to reduce wait times.

However, Minister Benn said the platform was not performing at its optimum. “Whilst the ministry has worked very well with…the National Data Management Authority, to establish this system, it also includes other agencies, all part of government, but not nested under the Ministry of Housing,” Benn explained.

For instance, she explained that current applications are still processed through bulky paper plans that require the relevant stamps and signatures for approval from various agencies like the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) and municipalities, among others.

These agencies must be equipped with the relevant equipment, reliable internet, and legal authority for electronic approvals before the digital platform can function to its fullest.

“This morning, Minister Croal and I had a meeting with Minister Priya Manickhand, who is now our Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, to see how we can address that together,” Benn said.

The ministers also met with the team from the NDMA to address related issues and “it’s a work in progress, but I anticipate that very soon the system will become a lot more efficient.”

When fully onstream, this change could mean an end to wasted hours, yet according to Minister Benn, many applicants are unaware that they can check their status online.

“Sometimes people make the application and then wait, expecting an update, but they don’t realise they can log in and see the status themselves. We need to tailor public awareness to address that,” she said.

This is part of a holistic vision of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government to digitise all government services to improve efficiency, reliability and remove human bias.

The Single Window System is a move towards a country with quicker services. (DPI)