because of Covid-19 restrictions . Yet , project approval submissions continue . This might be at a slightly reduced pace for now , but it will pick up if the proposed infrastructure spend takes place .
Accounts for all submissions have to be settled in full before the process begins , but approvals get bogged down in what is now an even lengthier process than before . My proposal , to begin with , is that a ten percent deposit should be paid for planning or other land use submissions , with the remaining balance being paid on approval . Whether this is actionable or not is debatable , but the reality is that the slow pace of council approvals – particularly in Johannesburg – is holding up development .
If projects were to start one or two years earlier – and they could , were it not for the delays in council approvals – developments would kick off sooner , jobs would be available more readily and the completed projects would be viable and employing more people faster . The benefits of the infrastructure and building development that are supposed to ignite the economy would be available much sooner .
The difficult reality is that although development can help stimulate economic growth , the construction sector is usually the one of the first to see the effects of any economic cycle – which means it is also quick to suffer the effects of a downturn . If we are trying to get our economy moving by stimulating development , surely it does not make sense to hamper an industry which needs to benefit from an upswing quickly . As it is , developers face massive holding costs for as long as the land they are developing cannot generate revenue . Professional teams deploy massive resources – both human and financial – to development proposals , often at risk . All this amounts to a pool of resources which , in theory , could be used efficiently elsewhere , meaning that millions and sometimes billions of Rands are effectively frozen until projects actually break ground . The industry which could do the most good for the economy the fastest is being unnecessarily hampered .
In our experience as a company , the biggest difficulty we see in getting a development off the ground is in the town planning process . Particularly in Johannesburg , where the town planning department still uses hard copy documents , and occasionally e-mails . Surely it should now be essential to have an integrated electronic system which allows for the input required from the various departments regarding water , roads , traffic and power – rather than one in which hard copy documents still get lost in filing rooms !
My biggest concern is in the rezoning process , which never seems to take less than a year in our experience . There is almost no doubt that this can be improved on – I would suggest that three months is more than sufficient .
We find that site development plan ( SDP ) submissions work a little more efficiently , mostly taking around three months to approve . We have seen some approvals happen faster , but this system would also benefit from being streamlined .
Building control is also reasonable , with most approvals taking a month or two , although I am sure this can be improved upon . Some municipalities are better than others at this .
This may seem like an overgeneralisation , and there are always exceptions , but as they say , perception is reality , and this is the reality that we deal with every day at the coal face .
I have engaged with the Association of Construction Project Managers ( ACPM ) on the matter and am aware that the South African Property Owners Association ( SAPOA ) and the South African Council for the Architectural Profession ( SACAP ) both have initiatives underway to try to address these issues with various authorities . Ideally , one would hope that the various industry representative bodies could pool their resources and expertise , and tackle this in a united fashion .
Although the overall picture of the systemic challenges that the municipal system faces in South Africa is rather depressing , we need to remain hopeful that solutions can be found . This is still a country full of potential !
It will remain to be seen how things pan out , but one thing is clear : we need to enable development and construction in this country urgently . Not to do so would be a wasted opportunity for much-needed economic stimulus .
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