The City of Cape Town will, as from 1 July 2019, will only accept online submissions of building plans and land use applications. Residents, government departments and professionals submitting development applications are encouraged to register for the City’s online services, called e-Services, well ahead of time.
Residents, government departments and professionals have been able to submit building plans and land use applications via the City’s e-Services portal since 2015 when the Development Application Management System (DAMS) was introduced.
The transition from paper to digital has been a long journey and the City’s Development Management Department has set 1 July 2019 as the deadline for becoming fully digitised.
‘’We must embrace the digital information age and the advantages that this technology offers us to become a smarter, faster and a more forward-thinking and competitive City. Therefore, as of 1 July 2019 district office counters will be replaced by the City’s e-Services portal,’ says the City’s mayoral committee member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Marian Nieuwoudt.
Submitting applications via the City’s online portal has many benefits
- Submissions can be made 24/7, therefore there are no restrictive office hours
- Submissions can be made from anywhere in the world, be it from your study or another country
- There is no need to commute or drive to a district office to apply by hand
- There is no queuing or scanning of documents
- It is paperless and helps to save our planet
- Applicants can monitor and track the progress / status of their application anytime from anywhere
- It enables instant electronic communication between the City and the applicant during the assessment process
“Many residents have already made the transition from manual to online. Currently up to 67% of building plan applications and 55% of land use applications are submitted through the City’s e-Services portal. We’re now requesting other applicants to also make the switch within the next two months,’’ says Nieuwoudt.
The drive to become 100% digitised will not exclude those without internet access.
‘’After 1 July 2019 each one of the City’s district planning offices will have a workstation and officials who are available to assist residents to register for e-Services and to use City resources to access e-Services for the submission of applications. Therefore, no-one will be excluded. In the meantime, I also want to encourage residents and professionals to register for e-Services so that they can benefit from the e-Services portal and avoid any inconvenience in future,’’ adds Nieuwoudt.
