In line with easing doing business and improving service delivery, City of Kigali and Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA), in collaboration with Rwanda Investment Climate Reform Program (RICRP3) of the World Bank Group, have upgraded and migrated from the current online Construction Management Information System (CPMIS) to Building Permitting Management Information System (BPMIS) for City of Kigali and its districts (Gasabo, Kicukiro and Nyarugenge).

 

City of Kigali has been using the CPMIS since its launch in May, 2013, however in order to adopt and integrate new features such as e-payment, link to Land Administration Information System, streamline inspections and notifications, it was prudent and necessary to upgrade and migrate from the current Construction Management Information System(CPMIS) to Building Permitting Management Information System(BPMIS).

 

The Building Permitting Management Information System (BPMIS) has already been launched and deployed in 4 Secondary Cities (Musanze, Rubavu, Huye and Rusizi) with Muhanga and Nyagatare coming up in the next couple of months. The system is designed to allow applicants to submit online permit requests, shorten the time required for One Stop Centers to assess, approve and report on permit applications and efficiently provide feedback on sites/plots inspections.

 

RHA and CoK cooperated with the WBG/IFC through the Investment Climate Reform Program in Rwanda to design, test and deploy the system. The objective of the project was to avail a single online BPMIS to serve all Districts in Rwanda in order to facilitate the urbanization process and see that the number of days and cost to obtain permits have reduced by at least 10% (based on results in City of Kigali)

 

The BPMIS is expected to deliver permitting services in a transparent and harmonized manner. Similarly, the system will reduce time and resources needed by applicants to access permitting services, Applicants will now be able to track the progress of their applications online and through SMS and email notifications.

 

Emphasizing on this, during the Summit on Transform Africa 2015, H.E the President of the Republic of Rwanda Paul Kagame said: “Technology is not just about gadgets, but results on the ground that benefit citizens. It can transform the lives of people who may have never touched a smartphone themselves. Behind the scenes, ICT enables government to provide more efficient and accountable public services. This leads to better health outcomes, quicker customs procedures, and computerized land titles”.

 

This initiative will attract more investors in the construction industry and will boost their trust and confidence in services delivered by the permitting and inspection entities.

 

The BPMIS will enhance the accountability of staff dealing with permitting and will provide a helping hand in reducing informal settlements. It will also improve Rwanda’s ranking in World Bank Doing Business Report related to Dealing with Construction Permits.

 

Didier Sagashya, the City of Kigali Executive Secretary, pointed out that the new platform will ease doing business in the construction industry as it addresses challenges that affected the performance of the old system.

 

“It will shorten the time required for one-stop centres to assess, approve and report on permit applications and efficiently provide feedback on sites and plot inspections”, Sagashya indicated.

 

Additionally, the online system will contribute towards the promotion of a paperless and cashless economy through reduction of paper and the use of E-payment systems through Irembo. It will also store data at the national data center for efficient and secure archiving.

 

About Rwanda Investment Climate Reform Program (RICRP3)

 

RICRP3 is a World Bank Group Trade and Competitiveness department program funded by DfID to support reforms to improve transparency, predictability and certainty for investors’ country wide through improved government service delivery while improving the legal framework for private participation in key sectors.

 

The program aims to also attract inclusive private sector investment and enhance the competitiveness in agriculture and tourism, priority sectors which respectively have the largest workforce and the most opportunities for non-farm job creation.

Source : http://rwandaeye.com