​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. Thus, as of 1 July 2019 district office counters will be replaced by the City’s e-Services portal,’ said 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 for applicants:

• Submissions can be made 24/7, thus, 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 submit an application 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 applications at any time from any place
• 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,’ said Alderman 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. Thus, nobody 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 to avoid any inconvenience in future,’ said Alderman Nieuwoudt.
 
 
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