The Planning and Development Single Window Platform (PDSWP) Bill, which was laid in Parliament some five months ago, was passed in the National Assembly on July 20 after a third reading.
The bill was sent in April this year to a Select Committee of Parliament for the consideration of amendments. At the last sitting of the National Assembly, the amendments were accepted after which the bill was passed.
Minister of Housing, Collin Croal during his presentation before the passage of the bill, stated that it seeks to provide for the management and implementation of the planning and development single window system and to provide for the establishment of the planning oversight committee, among other things.
The Select Committee which comprised the Minister as Chairman along with parliamentarians Anil Nandlall, Gail Teixeira, Susan Rodrigues, Deodat Indar, Roysdale Forde, Annette Ferguson, David Patterson and Ganesh Mahipaul, met on five occasions.
Croal said, “I am pleased to report Mr. Speaker that the changes to bill Number 26 being presented today were unanimously agreed upon by the members of the Select Committee.”
He said the “spirited debate” at the level of the committee has strengthened the bill. “Mr. Speaker many of the proposed amendments before the National Assembly are meant to clarify various provisions of the bill, a few of the proposed amendments are more substantial”, he said.
One of the amendments now allows applicants to submit planning and development applications and other relevant documents either electronically or in paper form rather than both, while another expands the options for payments and the agencies to which such payments can be made.
Another amendment was made to clarify that the provisions of the legislation do not impact or detract from the provisions that are being made that are in the Amerindian Act, “… to also allow the Central Housing and Planning Authority to monitor and evaluate the operations of the relevant agencies involved through the planning and development process.”
Further, a subsection was added to provide for the publishing of semi-annual reports on applications and their status on the ministry’s website.
Croal added, that “to ensure that the local government organs and our agencies or partners receive their fees collected on their behalf and this be done in a timely manner a new clause to Section 14 is being recommended, this new provision when approved will ensure that all fees collected by the Central Housing and Planning Authority on behalf of those agencies or local authorities are remitted within sixty days.”
Additionally, an amendment to the administrative scheme was made so that consultations with the director and other relevant agencies occur prior to any changes or revocations approved by the minister.
Integrity
In order to protect the integrity of the data in the system and to ensure there is a secure and updated registry of all authorized users, amendments were also made.
In terms of the oversight committee, a suitably qualified chairperson will be appointed by the minister, while in order to broaden the representation of the committee one person is to be appointed by the minister after inviting nominations from the private sector. The person is to have knowledge and experience in matters relevant to land development “and this person will be drawn from the areas of business, finance, law, physical planning, natural science, land survey, and architectural or engineering.”
Croal added that another amendment was made allowing two persons to be appointed by the minister after inviting nominations from the Guyana Association of Professional Engineers, the Guyana Planning Association, the Guyana Architect Association, and the Guyana Association of Professional Surveyors Incorporated.
Another new provision set out the terms of the members of the committee serving two years with eligibility for reappointment for a further term as may be determined by the minister.
Meanwhile, a copy of every report prepared by the committee will also have to be laid in the National Assembly based on one amendment.
“To clarify that a review of the committee will be ongoing rather than simply after the initial year it is recommended that Section 23 be amended so that the minister shall undertake a review of the committee after the end of the first year and annually thereafter.”
Under another amendment, the planning appeal tribunal will consist of a chairperson and four other members including a vice chairperson each of whom may be appointed to serve in a full-time, part-time, or periodic capacity as may be required.
According to Croal, it is anticipated that the chairperson of the tribunal shall be an attorney at law of not less than ten years standing and shall be appointed by the minister.
Notably, an applicant that is aggrieved by a decision of the central authority will have within 28 days of receipt of the decision to file an appeal with the secretary of the tribunal.
