• Architects hope approval wait ‘kill off’ over

• As PM pledges building permits ‘within days’

• Reformers: ‘Why wait until brink of doom?’

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Architects yesterday voiced cautious optimism that their “two-decade fight” for fast-track building permit approvals may have a successful end after the prime minister pledged: “It’s a matter of when.”

Gustavus Ferguson, the Institute of Bahamian Architects (IBA) president, told Tribune Business that Dr Hubert Minnis’ House of Assembly announcement could unlock increased real estate and construction investment and end the tradition of “a lot of projects dying in the Ministry of Works”.

He spoke out after the prime minister revealed that the government is finally moving in the direction long urged by Bahamian construction industry professionals, whereby the law will be changed to facilitate “immediate approvals” for building plans submitted by licensed, qualified and registered architects.

Dr Minnis, who admitted it can presently take between six to eight months to obtain a building permit once the application is submitted, said the legal amendments will be enacted “in short order” to enable

approvals to be issued “in a matter of days”.

Placing “legal responsibility” on architects for such applications, he added that the overnment will restrict its involvement to inspections that ensure construction complies with the Bahamas Building Code and zoning regulations.

The fact that COVID-19’s economic devastation has likely forced the Government’s hands on this and other long-promised ‘ease of business’ reforms was not lost on some. Robert Myers, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) principal, who has construction industry interests, yesterday queried why The Bahamas always has to reach “the brink of doom” before finally acting.

“It’s about bloody time,” he told Tribune Business of the promised building permit reforms. “I don’t know why it has to take a global crisis to get us off our backsides, but there you go. We have to wait until the country is taken to the brink of doom before we get off our backsides, but better now than never.”

Mr Myers said what was detailed by Dr Minnis was promised by the current government some four years ago when it took office, but described the proposed reforms as “great, perfect” in terms of what was required to unlock greater construction activity.

Pointing out that the sector’s work linked directly to higher levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign currency inflows, which are desperately needed given tourism’s slow COVID-19 rebound, Mr Myers added: “We’ve been saying this for God knows how long. Go on the engineers’ and architects’ licences. They have liability insurance. Why is government getting in the way?

“This speeds up the whole process. It means we are able to deploy people and earn revenue, which means the Government also earns revenue. It’s a very important step. Getting these permits approved and out of the ground means revenue and work for everybody.

“Otherwise it may significantly hamper foreign direct investment. If we keep people waiting they will go elsewhere. They will say The Bahamas is not serious and go elsewhere, means Bahamians lose opportunities. It affects everybody across the board,” the ORG chief continued.

“The cost, size and speed of government needs a serious kick in the pants. We need action, not words. We serious, tangible action quickly. Get all the bureaucrats in a room, fix it and get them to move quicker. Take the politics out of it.”

Dr Minnis yesterday also pledged that “software will soon be at the Ministry of Works to facilitate the electronic submission of building permits”, as he acknowledged that the wait for approvals is “somewhat frustrating” for Bahamians and residents seeking to construct both residential and commercial properties.

“The building permit may take months,” he said. “The minister of works [Desmond Bannister] will introduce amendments to the law so qualified architects registered with the Ministry of Works can submit their plans and receive immediate approvals for the construction of buildings and commercial complexes up to a certain size.

“What this means is you do not have to submit a plan, wait for two months for it to be approved, then take it to the Ministry of Health and wait another two months, take it to the Ministry of the Environment for another approval and wait two months........”

Dr Minnis said the multiple approvals required from various government agencies meant many building permit applications “take six months or even more”. Now, finally, he added that plans produced by licensed architects and certified construction professionals will be fast-tracked, with those executives being held “legally responsible for those plans in terms of litigation”.

With the Government’s responsibilities restricted to building inspections for Code and zoning compliance, the Prime Minister added: “Mr Speaker, that means in very short order that, instead of waiting six to eight months, these amendments once enacted will make sure you receive a permit in a matter of days. It’s just a matter of when.”

The IBA’s Mr Ferguson, while hoping the Prime Minister’s remarks finally represent signs of tangible progress, said he did not want to become “too excited” just yet given that multiple previous promises on the issue never materialised.

“That’s what we were fighting for,” he told Tribune Business of fast-track permitting. “We have been fighting for that for over two decades. I am reserved in terms of giving any accolades or thanking the Government in any regard based on the fact we have heard a lot of promises and we have not had any delivery on those promises as it relates to architects and the industry in general.”

Mr Ferguson said previous IBA research had shown that The Bahamas was lagging behind both Caribbean and regional competitors when it came to the pace of building permit approvals. He added that the Institute’s study, carried out some years ago, revealed that New York city - with around 500,000 construction applications annually, around 10 times’ that of The Bahamas - was able to process residential permits within two days.

In Florida’s Miami-Dade County, the process was shown to take “three to four days maximum” compared to The Bahamas’ six to eight months. “We have had a lot of projects die in the Ministry of Works because of the extended approvals process,” Mr Ferguson said. “We have a lot of projects where on average you’re talking six months easy.

“If we can reduce that to one to two days that will be great for the profession as well as the economy. It will have a definite impact on the economy through the construction industry. We don’t have any lag time in terms of design completion; construction will begin. It will have a far-reaching effect.”

Mr Ferguson said the move would also result in Bahamian architects being treated with the respect deserved by licensed, certified and highly-educated professionals, and hopefully end the practice of architects having to supply huge volumes of paper-based plans and interact with the Ministry of Works physically.

“It puts us in a better position where we can focus on our clients rather than worrying if the law is upheld,” he added, suggesting that government officials have previously had discretion to the extent they “come up with things at a drop of a hat or implement something they have in a dream”.

Suggesting that COVID-19 may prove to be an unwanted “blessing in disguise” for the construction industry and related professions, given that it seemed to be forcing the Government to enact long-promised reforms, Mr Ferguson said he will reserve final judgment until all details are released by the Government.

“There is a whole lot of tax revenue that is being lost to the bureaucracy in the Ministry of Works and Building Control Department,” he added. “The loss is much larger than what we as professionals experience.

“We hope our fight is coming to an end and we hope we can be considered like our colleagues in the region who have been submitting construction documents and plans online for years. Hopefully we’ll be catching up in this regard.”