Western Cape Business 2020 edition

Municipal Economic Support eases building plan
approvals for local businesses
The Municipal Economic Support Unit, in
partnership with the Drakenstein Municipality,
implemented the Collaborator Extension Project
which involved the design and development of
a Building Control Portal that allows clients to
submit building plan applications online. This,
along with technical process enhancements to
current municipal electronic systems, aims to
efficiently support the building control function and
streamline processes and approvals.
A benefit of the project is that local businesses
Managing abattoir waste
Abattoir waste has been
identified through numerous
reports and studies as being
the most problematic foodwaste
type to manage in
the Western Cape due to
its hazardous nature and its
potential impacts on the
environment and human
health. The Guideline on the
Management of Abattoir
Waste in the Western Cape was developed as one
of the recommendations stemming from the Status
Quo study of Abattoir Waste conducted in 2015.
The guideline provides various role-players in
the abattoir sector with the necessary advice to
ensure compliance with the legislation while also
realise savings through reduced red tape costs as a
result of reduction in timeframes of approvals, and
the easing of unnecessary complexity in finalising
building plan applications.
More importantly, the portal will allow applicants
to track their applications and establish where
it is in the approval process at any given time.
This portal has reduced the approval time for
plans from 32 days to 15 days.
The Department of Economic Development
and Tourism has also rolled the portal out to
municipalities along the West Coast including
Matzikama, Saldanha Bay, Bergriver and Cedarberg.
Lauren Waring, The Executive Director:
Planning and Development at Drakenstein
Municipality, indicated that the partnership with
the Department of Economic Development and
Tourism was a valuable one, and that the new
system significantly boosted staff morale. “It was
also interesting seeing the rise in the number of
compliments by satisfied applicants that the unit
started receiving,” said Lauren.
providing the various
options available for
management that
ensures the protection
of the environment and
human health.
The guideline
also explores the
possibility of regional
cooperation among
role-players as an
option in resolving some of the challenges
experienced in the sector. The mini-guide is a
collaboration between the Red Tape Reduction
Unit and the Waste Management Directorate of
the Department of Environmental Affairs and
Development Planning.
23 WESTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2020