The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

TRIBUNE Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMIAN developer yesterday hailed the Government’s bid to slash the turnaround time for building permits to just 60 days as early as 2027 as “a massive win for everyone”.

Robert Myers, principal behind the Windsor Lakes project in south-western New Providence, and head of Capstone Construction, told Tribune Business that it will be “a huge feather in the cap for development in The Bahamas” if plans unveiled yesterday by Clay Sweeting, minister of works, to “cut red tape” by fully digitising the approvals process turn into reality.

He spoke out after Mr Sweeting, addressing the Abaco Business Outlook conference, said he hopes that “a new, reimagined Ministry of Works” will be in place “by the next Budget cycle” so that construction-related activity - ranging from residential home owners to major developers - does not have to wait as long as nine months to a year to obtain the necessary permits once application is made.

Conceding that time and delay represents extra cost for developers and contractors alike, Mr Sweeting added that the Ministry of Works plans to introduce two other initiatives which construction industry professionals have also long called for. These involve allowing licensed, qualified private sector engineers to sign-off on and approve plans/drawings for new buildings, and also carry out inspections on the Ministry’s behalf during actual construction.

Mr Sweeting, also the central and south Eleuthera MP, told Outlook attendees that these two moves are designed to reduce the Ministry of Works’ workload and speed-up construction but without sacrificing regulation, safety or quality oversight. He added that the Ministry will retain “audit” powers when it comes to drawing sign-offs and inspections, and “act where standards are not met”.

Also confirming that revisions to the Bahamas Building Code are close to being finalised, Mr Sweeting said: ‘I believe that when you are given a task, whether it’s in government or the private sector, you find ways to make the job easier for a person who’s having to utilise the services you are in charge of.

“So the Ministry of Works is finding ways to cut the red tape with building plan applications and processes. I want to turn and say something to every developer and conrtractor in this room that has an opinion about getting a building plan approved. You submit your plans. You wait. You call. You wait some more, and if you want to build anything over 3,000 square feet in the Family Islands, or Abaco, your plans have to be sent to New Providence.

“Sometimes this means weeks of silence. That has to end. So, first, we are taking the process online so you can submit your plans. Whether you live in Marsh Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Hope Town or Parrot Cay, anywhere in the Commonwealth, you can submit your plans online and track them at every stage and get a decision in a clear, published timeline.”

Mr Sweeting, though, conceded that legislative reform and “restructuring a portion of the Ministry of Works” before this efficient, business ease-friendly future can be achieved. While he gave no specific timeline or details on the required legislation, he added: “I would hope, I would hope, that by the next Budget cycle that we will see a new, reimagined Ministry of Works that has streamlined this process.

“We have already travelled to the Cayman Islands and we’ve seen how they have a full digital system there, and we would look to incorporate that in a way that developers and contractors streamline their process.

“I could go on about how that increases GDP by $400m-$500m, and puts more money into the public purse, but in reality we only want to make sure the people affected by it benefit to get the process down to 60 days from application.”

Mr Sweeting then confirmed that the Ministry of Works is “moving” to allow qualified private sector engineers and architects to perform “third party” sign-offs and approvals of drawings and plans submitted for building permits. This, he added, is designed to ease the bottlenecks and delays caused by the application overload at the Ministry of Works, plus having to wait for one of the latter’s own qualified employees to do the work.

“We are also allowing inspections by third-party professionals on the approved list during construction,” Mr Sweeting added. “This does not lower the bar; it just reduces the queue, and the ministry will audit and act where standards are not met.

“So for developers, that means you can predict when your plans will be accepted, because every month a project sits waiting you are paying interest. For contractors, it means crews are working instead of waiting. And for architects and engineers, it means more work because, in developments, teams should be building, not waiting.”

Construction industry professionals, and all their trade associations and bodies, have been crying for the reforms unveiled yesterday by Mr Sweeting for the better part of two decades. While it appears there is now some momentum to actually make them happen, many are likely to take a ‘wait and see’ and ‘believe it when we see it’ approach.

Mr Myers, though, said he understood “that should happen” in 2027 in terms of digital implementation. Praising Mr Sweeting for pushing to make it reality, he told Tribune Business: “It will be a massive feather in the cap for development in the country and home owners that want to build. It’s a massive win for everyone. That means more revenue for the Government” and eases the burden for Bahamians with “capital tied-up” this area.

The former Bahamas Chamber of Commerce chairman compared the “60 day” application turnaround time announced yesterday by Mr Sweeting with the present “three to six months” required to obtain a permit for a two-storey home. “It’s unconscionable that it takes that long,” Mr Myers said, while branding the changes “well past due”.

Suggesting that building permit turnaround time should be “30 to 60 days max”, he added: “It just means that there will be that much more GDP development and growth. The transparency it will create - we will know what documents are signed-off on or not signed-off online. We will know our electrical is outstanding, we will know our structural needs more information, or know there are concerns about mechanical.

“Because it’s an integrated system, not only will we know that. The point I made to the Ministry of Works, more importantly, is that they need to know what is outstanding. That impacts government decisions in terms of employment, foreign direct investment, GDP growth and the economy.”

Mr Myers said the building reforms, if they come to fruition, will also provide a major boost for jobs and incomes in an industry that supports many middle and lower income Bahamians and their families. “Construction and development is the number two or three industry in the country,” he added.

“It’s certainly the industry that impacts Bahamians more than anything else, more than banking. Lower and middle income Bahamians are the ones that benefit more from construction than anyone else, and that’s where we should be trying to create the jobs based on the educational level…. It’s all very positive, and the sooner the better.”

Mr Sweeting, addressing audience questions at the Abaco Business Outlook yesterday, reiterated that - under the current process - only architects and engineers employed by the Ministry of Works can sign-off and approve building permit plans. The changes, he added, will expand this ability to their private sector counterparts.

“It’ll be a limitation, so there will be a tiered structure, but they will be able to do that. It won’t have to go to the Ministry itself. It will be a streamlined process. I just wanted to touch on it today. It’ll take around a year to fully develop.”

Mr Sweeting said The Bahamas is eyeing both the Cayman Islands and Barbados building permit systems for the model it will ultimately adopt as they appear “to be the most fluid to what we need”. He added that, while the Cayman Islands requires “a third party” engineer or architect to be approved by the Ministry of Works equivalent before the final plans are signed-off, in Barbados they simply give the go-ahead and final plans then sent in.

The minister, when it was pointed out that the Bahamas Building Code was last revised in 2003, said current updates are “almost finished”. He added: “We could just plug it into the new system, right. It isn’t that we need to start over. The Building Code, the new code, is almost complete and we have been working with the IDB on that.”

Mr Sweeting said this was separate and apart from the building process reforms, where he reiterated: “Currently, if you apply even for a house to a big developer, it could take nine months to a year to get approved.

“So we are trying to streamline that process. We will streamline that process; we ain’t going to try. We will streamline that process so that we can allow persons who want to build homes, contractors, developers to ensure that the economy grows as quickly as it should be able to.”