City honours automation officials
Johannesburg – City officials who oversaw the digital automation of the Construction Permit Management System (CPMS) have been honoured for increased investment across industries, stimulating job creation, expediting spatial transformation and advancing economic growth.
Plan examiners who pioneered the system received certificates of recognition for using technological affordances to streamline building plan approval within the envisaged three days.
Some of the top achievers include Mark John Barnes, Leiben Naidoo, Ernestine Jacobs, Ronnie Mokondo and Mellaney Massyn, who got more than two awards.
Johara Anandlal, Barnes, Sindiswa Dlamini, Ernestine Jacobs, Council Mabeba, Kithue Masu and Nkamoheleng Mathaba were recognised for outstanding performance in handling voluminous building plans in a superb turnaround time.
Sibusiso Langa, Massyn, Yonela Mwafulirwa, Naidoo, Petrus Sennelo and Mokondo were recognised for their outstanding performance in making efficient decisions when assessing building plans. Kedibone Moraladi, Pamela Ndovela, Noel Oberholzer, Aluwani Rambau, Dinga Sandlana, Olga Shibambu and Andiswa Yilo-Stuurman were also recognised for outstanding performance.
The system has been endorsed by construction industry stakeholders, the Presidency, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Swiss government, World Bank, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition and National Treasury.
Development Planning MMC Belinda Echeozonjoku said the Construction Permit Management System (CPMS) would end to insufficient spatial planning.
“This contributes to a priority that promotes the use of technology to improve ease of doing business.”
The Construction Permit Management System (CPMS) was piloted in Joburg in January last year to digitise submission and approval of building plans. Hundreds of applications have been processed and over a thousand professionals have registered their profiles on the CPMS.
The manual process was time consuming and prone to errors. The digital CPMS allows submissions to be processed remotely within three days.
Echeozonjoku said the CPMS improves business efficiency, investment in the property sector, spatial design and urban planning. “This will reduce the amount of time developers and architects spend attempting to obtain approval for their work.”
Dr Anthony Costa of the Presidency said state institutions can use technology to create an enabling business environment.
“The construction sector is critical to infrastructure development and job creation. The CPMS improves ease of doing business with the municipality, end user experience, increases efficiency, grows the economy and increases investment in the property sector,” Dr Costa said.
