The City is streamlining the approval of building plans by infusing technological efficiencies into the system, allowing the digital process to be completed in five to 10 days. Cllr Belinda Echeozonjoku, the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Development Planning, says introducing an automated system of approval—the Construction Permit Management System (CPMS)—has significantly reduced the time it takes to process a building plan application.

Cllr Echeozonjoku says the City used to approve building plans in 15 days; however, since July to date, building plan approvals have exceeded R6 billion in worth, thanks to the CPMS.

The target of reducing the time it takes to approve building plans was set earlier in the year; however, there have been some teething problems.

“There have been system glitches that have delayed the finalisation of some building applications beyond the envisaged 10-day period.

The R6-billion worth of approvals was reached despite significant technological difficulties in the CPMS around August and September that prevented applicants from downloading signed copies of building plan applications that had been accepted on the system.

This created a backlog of applications that needed approval,” she explains.

The process of having a building plan approved used to be lengthy. However, once the digital system operates optimally, architectural professionals will be able to submit and have building plans processed digitally, enabling decisions to be endorsed quicker online.

“As with all new systems, there are technical glitches, and the City is aware that there have been delays in processing some building plans submitted via the CPMS. We are working on the technical glitches and are hopeful that soon the delays will be outdated,” Cllr Echeozonjoku says.

She notes that approving building plans in a short space of time will improve urban planning and increase investment in property development.

“Developers can start construction within a shorter time frame, and this promotes better investment in the City.

​It furthermore improves client satisfaction with the services offered by the municipality and improves confidence in municipal services.”

When a building plan is submitted, pre-scrutiny is undertaken, and if everything is in order, an invoice is sent to the applicant for payment of fees.

When payment is received, the plan is randomly assigned to an examiner within the CPMS, and the 5- to 10-day process of finalising the building plan begins.

After the plans examiners recommend approval of the building plan, the CPMS assigns it at random to a Chief Plans Examiner, who will then process the building plan for approval or refusal. Following approval or denial by a Chief Plans Examiner, the client is notified accordingly.

Cllr Echeozonjoku says the legal time frame for processing building plans for 500 sq m is 30 days, and for building plans of >500 sq m, it is 60 days.

“These were the timeframes we were targeting before, and they remain the legal timeframes. However, because of the automated system, we are targeting 5 to 10 days as a service standard,” she adds.

MMC Echeozonjoku says the CPMS gives effect to the mayoral priority of improving the ease of doing business in Johannesburg.

“We will continue to make major strides with the digital migration in the process of building plan submissions and approvals to attract more investment and economic growth for the City,” she adds.

The Construction Permit Management System was officially piloted in January to digitise the submission and approval of building plans in Johannesburg, making the process efficacious. To date, more than 900 professionals have successfully registered their profiles on the CPMS, and hundreds of building applications have been processed.

The City of Johannesburg encourages all architects to register to use the municipality’s online site development and building application platform.

“Architectural professionals are the primary users of the system and are required to submit all building plans using their professional credentials, which automatically align with the South African Council for the Architectural Profession’s (SACAP) database, which confirms if they are in good standing,” she says.

Written by Brümilda Swartbooi

28/12/2022