New Tshwane metro sites aim to cut through red tape for property developers and homeowners
“The turnaround time for processing applications will be significantly improved.”
Tshwane has introduced an e-Tshwane portal site for property developers and revamped another internet site to lessen foot traffic at municipal client relations offices.
Architects, land surveyors and residents will see red tape reduced for property planning and land development applications as a result of the enhanced e-site, according to Tshwane mayor Randall Williams.
Williams said the site will alleviate the process of manually checking and processing applications.
“The turnaround time for processing applications will be significantly improved,” he said.
The site went live in December.
It allows for the submission of:
– Applications for approval of building plans
– Site development plans
– Provisional authorisation to erect structures
– Permission to use a building before a certificate of occupancy has been issued
– Application forms for the agreement or permission of included parties
– Complaints form
– For encroachment into the servitude area
– Permission to obtain copies of building plans
– Comments from another party
“This signals a move from processing hardcopy applications and improved service delivery,” said Williams.
“The data capturing errors normally associated with the manual processing of forms are also eliminated.”
Williams said the customer experiences and service delivery was expected to improve as customers no longer needed to visit customer care centres.
Another new municipal website was also launched to lessen foot traffic at Tshwane’s customer care centres, according to metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo.
It will also minimise telephone calls channelled through customer relations management call centre agents.
He said the new website was assembled via a WordPress system.
“The revamped version is service-oriented, customer-centric and easy to navigate. It offers new features such as reporting service interruptions and downloading forms among others.”
Tshwane City Manager Johann Mettler said the revamped website was “a ground-breaking initiative”.
He said the new website’s landing page featured an email inbox meant to solicit feedback from customers.
“This is a work in progress. We will gradually implement the new version in phases. This is the first phase. Early next year, we will implement the second phase and, ultimately, the third one.
“We will keep on introducing new features and make changes when it becomes necessary.”
Mettler said migrating the hosting of the website from SharePoint to the WordPress system was a suitable option for the municipality given its financial affairs.
“The SharePoint website was customised in such a way that if the City wanted to make structural changes, it had to rely on a service provider, which came at a cost. With WordPress, we will be able to make changes at no cost as no third party or middleman is involved.”
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