We have to Deal with Building Permit Delays at KCCA

Good construction regulation matters for public safety and an organized built environment.  However, striking a balance between enforcing the laws/regulations and having a quick and efficient approval process has proved a problem to almost all local authorities in Uganda.  A good permit application process ensures properly planned neighborhoods, safety standards that protect the public while bringing revenue to the authority.  Such permit process should be efficient, transparent and affordable for the developers and professionals who use it.  If the procedures are overly complicated, unclear and shrouded in mystery, developers tend to proceed without a permit.  It is estimated that 60-80% of building projects in Uganda are undertaken without the proper permits and approvals.   My assertion is that this is happening because of the delays experienced in the building applications across Uganda.

An efficient building permit approval process starts with establishing a coherent and transparent list of what is required from developers and professionals. When the process lacks clarity, there is a risk that developers and professionals will become confused about how to proceed. The adverse effects of an ambiguous application process are especially apparent in urban settings where we, architects, submit applications more regularly.   For example for some projects and not others, the good people at KCCA will ask for a Soil Integrity Report, a Traffic Impact Assessment Report and an Environment Impact Assessment.  Most developers and architects do not know which projects require these and which ones do not.  It is arguable that not all building projects are associated with the same social, cultural, economic or environmental risks. The construction of a hospital or skyscraper cannot be compared with the construction of a 2-story residential house.  We need a clear differentiated application process that treatsbuildings according to their risk level and location.  Simple or low risk buildings require less documentation than more complex structures and can be approved faster.  This saves time for both developers and authorities, which allows use of resources more efficiently.  

Besides being clear, rules also need to be practical so that they can keep up with economic and technological changes, which is particularly important in the light of growing environmental concerns and construction site accidents.  I have been especially unfortunate in the last six months to deal with an obnoxious Building Inspector in one of the Divisions that make up the Authority.   This all-important officer recently raided the site of one of my clients and demolished freshly built walls. Reason?  My client didn’t have an agreement with the supervising architect and engineer on site.  When we eventually produced one, he insisted that it had to be between the architect and developer, not between the architect’s firm and the developer. Where and how KCCA employ these people?  The same officer had recently advised one of my developers that he needed a soak away pit in the compound to drain storm water.  There is apparently a new rule where KCCA no longer allows draining storm water into roads/roadside channels.  I am not sure how practically achievable this rule is and what its effect will be on the environment over time.

In the absence a transparent process, the officers tend to impose additional technical requirements on developers as we are seeing regularly in KCCA. The ability by staff to arbitrarily come up with their list of requirements creates conditions for some officers to extort unofficial payments, which is unfortunately happening.

Before a building plan is approved, appropriate clearances are rightly needed to ensure quality and safety.  As a result several agencies are involved. To prevent overlap and ensure efficiency, KCCA should consider putting all agencies in one location.  This one-stop arrangement improves the organization of the review process—not by reducing the number of checks needed but by better coordinating the different agencies dealing with these requests. At the moment, KCCA has a very undesirable and cumbersome process that requires submitting structural drawings separately and after the approval of the architectural drawings.  This on many occasions has led to loss of drawings, which leads to further delays.  In a one-stop arrangement, professionals will devote more resources to dealing with the applications rather than to multiple journeys taken to these various agencies. 

The building approval process is overwhelming, daunting and at times frustrating for first time developers.  Like other agencies have done, KCCA should consider introducing an expedited process at a premium.   To avoid wasting resources on reviewing substandard applications, this route should only be available to a pre-approved list of professionals or developers who have a proven record of understanding the process and it’s requirements. 
The pre-approved professionals should be conversant with the forms to file, how to fill them out correctly, what documents to include and who to contact for each stage.  Due to their knowledge, they should be able to anticipate potential building code zoning violations that could delay an approval, and should be able to assess the project plans to ensure that no incompliant areas or violations will affect the application.  This will allow the developers to obtain quick and easy approvals while it earns authority extra revenue.  It will also stop the growing habit of authority staff making or generating unnecessary deferral comments so that they can convince the developers to re-do their applications.

Inefficient permitting processes affect economic development. Project delays lead to higher costs that either will be passed on to occupants or will discourage new construction.  Less new construction reduces the total supply of buildings and will tend to lead to increased rents. Secondly, a more cumbersome unclear process leads to developers avoiding the whole process, which then leads to other consequences, like poorly planned neighborhoods and construction disasters. An efficient and predictable permitting process will attract investment by reducing the risk of scheduling delays and cost overruns.  Architects are reporting that permit processing turnaround time has almost doubled from 3 months in 2012 to more than 6 months in 2016.  Some architects have reported that the wait can take as long as two years.  Acceleration in permit approval will not only be good for us architects but will lead to:
·     Financially attractive for investors to invest in building because of the predictable timelines.
·      Increased revenue to the authority.
·      Increasing investment in construction will provide broader economic benefits like increased employment.
It is therefore important for KCCA to invest in an improved building department that is more agile and better equipped to expedite the building p

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