The City of Cape Town’s drive to increase the turnaround times of the building application process by improving its existing systems is yielding positive results.

Between May and July 2015 the City has consistently surpassed the performance benchmark requirement as set by the National Building Regulations and Standards Act (NBRSA).

This strong performance can be attributed to the dedication of City staff in bedding down a ground-breaking electronic system, the Development Application Management System (DAMS), which is a first for a South African metro.

It is reducing the turnaround time for development plan applications as the scrutiny of applications can occur simultaneously rather than consequentially, as was previously the case.

The proof is in the performance

To this end, during the 2014/2015 financial year, almost 28 725 building plans were approved. Pertaining to land use application.

During the 2014/2015 financial year, approximately 8 939 land use applications were finalised.

The value of building plans approved amounted to approximately R21.1 billion – a year-on-year increase of some R2 billion.

Furthermore, since 1 April 2014, in addition to paper submissions, customers have been able to submit plans in PDF format by using a memory stick.

The introduction of this system has also made online payments for development applications possible through an electronic funds transfer (EFT).

“Although the implementation of the full DAMS is still underway, great benefits are visible. As is already being experienced, this system serves to enhance the City’s services and ensures a more convenient system for customers, in line with our commitment to being a well-run city,” says Johan van der Merwe, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Environmental and Spatial Planning.

“The Department has also focused on the migration of data from the existing system to the new system. Being a well-run and efficient government is the return that we make on the faith of our ratepayers, customers and residents in general.

“This requires that we constantly look to innovation to increase service delivery and to ensure that our systems make sense in a technologically-driven environment,” concludes Van der Merwe