Streamlining of building permit approval processing of town and country planning department in Ghana

Figures & data

Figure 1. Complex planning application (lodgment) steps that applicant/developer has to follow to obtain a permit.

Table 1. The sample

Number	Respondents	Frequency
1	Director-Town Planner (D)	2
2	Senior Town Planners (STP)	3
3	Town Planners (TP)	3
4	Surveyors (S)	2
5	Architects (A)	3
6	Building Inspectors (BI)	4
7	Utility Agencies (UA)	10
8	Technical Officers (TO)	3
9	Developers (DP)	3
10	Accountant (AT)	1
11	Building Permit Applicants (BPA)	4
12	Total	38

Source: Field survey 2011–2012.

Table 2. Planning application (lodgment) statistics 2011—determined applications

Number of applications determined by month and year in percentages
Submitted in 2008 but determined 2011	9	Percent of applications determined within statutory time frame	Average processing time within statutory time frame was 3 months	Average processing time outside statutory time frame was 4 years	Number of applications approved was 564	Number of applications deferred was 48	Number of applications refused was 60
Submitted in 2009 but determined 2011	48
Submitted in 2010 but determined 2011	72
Submitted in 2011 and determined 2011	543
Total	672	7%	3 month	4 years/93%	564/83%	48/7%	60/10%

Note: This record is for the 2011 determined applications including overdue applications processed from 2008, 2009, and 2010.

Source: Field survey 2011–2012.

Table 3. The steps involved in application lodgment by applicants

Steps	Activities by applicant	Average time (days)
1	Applicant buys and fills Form at TCPD	½
2	Applicant submits Form to Land Commission(LC) for land title ownership clarification/verification	1–2
3	Applicant returns letter of clarification from Land Commission to TCPD-Development Control Division(DC)	½
4	Applicant goes to Metro Works Department (MWD) to buy lodgment form (Form 1)	½
5	Applicant submits Form 1 to TCPD-DC	1
6	Applicant goes to TCPD-Account Division(AD) and fills payment forms	½
7	Applicant goes to Bank to pay building permit processing fee	½
8	Applicant makes photocopies of processing fee receipt	½
9	Applicant submits receipt to Account Division	½
10	Applicant submits proof of payment to TCPD-DC and lodges application	½
Duration	Average time(day) of application lodgment	7

Source: Field survey 2011–2012.

Figure 2. Illustrations of TCPD’s three sequential workflows and task interdependence.

Source: Field survey 2011–2012.

Table 4. Key issues, recommendations, and implementation for the planning approval process

Factors	Issues	Recommendation	Implementation
Applicants’ perceptions	Lack of consistency.	Provide clear guidelines and information on approval procedures.	Effect changes in the system to regain public trust. Embark on public information campaign.
	Ensuing lack of confidence in the system.
	Unresponsive system.
Meetings	Lack of professionalism.	Consideration should be given to procedural change.	Introduce standardized agenda.
	Lack of preparation and/or inconsistent standards.
Delegation of decision-making	Unclear roles and objectives of the STC.	Mayor should delegate decision-making powers on minor proposals to the STC Chairman and/or the Director TCPD.	Transparency of delegations and consistency of decision-making.
	The Mayors involvement and associated time constraints.
Standard of application	Substantial variation in the standard of application documents.	Review of guidelines for submission of development applications.	Updating and review of guidelines.
Application lodgment process	Frustrating steps with a number of agencies.	The applicant lodgment process should be simplified.	Create a OSC for application lodgment.
Procedural responsibility	Torturous path that involves several agencies external to the TCPD.	The TCPD should be responsible for the entire approval process.	Modification of the process is considered a high priority.
Organizational structure and staffing	Disconnect between the functions of the TCPD and other agencies.	Modify organizational structure of the TCPD for clear reporting and task grouping and allocation.	Effect procedural changes before regulatory changes where possible.
	Lack of clarity of task.	Job description forms should be developed for each position.

Figure 3. Recommended Process Map. Application submitted to the TCPD without going through all the other related planning agencies.