Rwanda has kicked off the use of a new digital system in construction that will be used in issuing and managing building permits.
The new digital system in construction dubbed electronic Building Permit Management Information System (eBPMIS) will make it easier and faster to process construction permit applications in the City of Kigali (CoK) and secondary cities around the country.
The City of Kigali’s master plan review and development control officer Merard Mpabwanamaguru said that the digital system is designed to digitise building permit issuing services in Kigali and secondary cities as well as to improve service delivery.
“The new system replaces the old system (BPMIS) previously deployed in the secondary cities, and will allow applicants to get progressing notifications and enable them to pay for services electronically using mobile money services or debit and credit cards,” he said.
Mpabwanamaguru noted that the new system will help in solving many problems associated with queues as well as save time that architects and engineers have been spending to verify the status of the permit applications.
The new system has the capability of serving the City of Kigali and other cities, contrary to the previous platform that could only serve the City of Kigali.
According to Eng. John Kalamagye, the registrar at the Institute of Engineers in Rwanda, the new system has helped harmonise the application process.
Read Below:eBPMIS Rwanda: Step-by-step guide on how to apply
Plans are underway to roll out the platform to all districts across the country.
Rwanda seeks to move most of its services to online platform as way of bringing the services close to the people.
An economically promising country, Rwanda continues to perform fairly well in the World Bank report on ease of doing business.
The Doing Business report released in 2016 placed Rwanda at 56th out of a total 190 countries.New Zealand tops as the easiest place in the world to do business.
Such deliberate efforts by Rwanda is likely to see the country climb in the ease of doing business index. Below is how to apply BPMIS.
How to apply on eBPMIS Rwanda
Step 1: Log onto to www.bpmis.gov.rw to access eBPMIS Rwanda.You can see many option provided on the front end. In case you have no account in the system, you need to sign up for a new account.
Step 2:Write down for record your username and password for future applications which may come when you have forgotten them.
Step 3: The system notifies you that the registration is successful. You can verify your account. You will receive an email for confirmation. Follow the steps to confirm you’re your account before you can submit any application.
Step 4: Log in to the Building Permits Management Information System (eBPMIS rwanda) at www.bpmis.gov.rw
Type in your username and password, log in to access the electronic construction portal.
Step 5: Click on the “make application”. This will take you to the application page where you can start inserting required information for a building permit application.
Step 6: Click on ‘Apply Now’ button and fill in the form provided. Once you have completed the form, Applicants can log into the system and view the status of their submitted building proposals. The system also notifies the applicants via SMS and email once the proposals complete key milestones in the system.
Notifications are also received when actions are pending for the applicant e.g. requests to make payment. After approval, the system generates the permit and allows the applicant to download it immediately and commence construction works.
Step 7: Submission:
- The officer administrator checks the application has all the requirements
- If the requirements are okay, the plan proceeds to review committee.
- Else send application back to the applicant with submission comments.
- Notification is also sent to the client.
- Relevant officers involved in Review stage are notified.
- Time Limit less than a day
- The director can act on application in this stage.
- A reference number is issued.
One application number is maintained for the lifetime of the application
STEP 8: Review and Circulation
- Viewing plans and checking validity of submitted documents.
- Download plans and view plans using Foxit pdf reader tool.
- Check compliance of the plan versus existing master plan.
- Site visit
- Verify the land details from LAIS
- Send back to the Architects with comments
- Comments made by technical team should be availed to the director i.e the director should see all comments made by a technical officer.
- Technical Comments will be made using built in system comment sheets for each member of the review team
- The team supervisor checks all the comments from all reviewers and makes final comments and submits the application to the director for approval
If its not ready for approval the supervisor communicates back to the applicant with comments
STEP 9: APPROVAL
Director checks the joint report issued by the review team and either;
Approves – issues letter of approval together with an invoice that is communicated to the applicant
Send its back to review team or architects with comments
Reject it – a letter of rejection is generated and communicated with the applicant
STEP 10: INVOICING
- Invoices are generated from the system after director’s approval depending on the various fee structures
- The Client is notified of the invoice and makes payment
- The mobile money service is to be integrated with ROL E-payments system and confirmation of payments made can be made from the backend
- Payments will also be integrated with RRA system.
- They can also pay via bank
- Invoices expires after 15 days System to implement RRA and ROL payment platforms.
- Verification of payments to be done on RRA platforms.
- STEP 11: PERMIT ISSUANCE
- Issued after director approval and payment confirmation.
- QR Code embedded on the permit
STEP 12: INSPECTIONS
- Architects notify the city when they began the construction work through an application on the front end using commencement form
- Inspections will be done through a mobile application that can work offline – the inspection form will be used
- Random inspections will be made and the findings reported on the system
- There will be a workflow to accommodate changes in plans for the previously approved permits
- RHA will be given access to monitor the inspections
STEP 13: OCCUPATION
- After construction the architects will apply for an occupation permit through Building occupation permit form which will be approved according to the inspections report.