Reactions Trail Proposed New Building Plan Approval Office

Sequel to the statement made by the Rivers State Ministry of Urban Development and Physical Planning that it will establish a one-stop building plan approval where all issues of building plans approval will be entertained, some stakeholders in the industry have continued to react to the issue.

The stakeholders have posited that such moves will likely result in conflict between the state government and the local government councils who already have been earning revenue from such plan approval.

Reacting to the issue when interacting with The Tide, a property developer in Port Harcourt, Bekwele Achor said that one area that have kept the local government revenue lively is the building plan approval, and that it has been going on over the years.

He said that for the state government wanting to have total control in everything that pertains to plan approval will mean to sub-charge the local government who already have the manpower and are in the business.

Achor however suggests that it will be more meaningful if the responsibility is being shared where the state government will focus on corporate and public building, while the local government retains the approval of private and individual persons.

On his part  a structural engineer, Prince Wonodi is of the opinion that the issue will be better by resolved constitutionally, pointing out that no tier of government would want to let go, especially anything that will generate revenue to them constitutionally.

Wonodi explained that since the state have control over the local government, that it can be possible for the state to also intervene in situations where the local government is becoming wreakless on the cause of revenue generation.

Meanwhile a revenue contractor with the Obio/Akpor local government council who do not want his name published is of the opinion that the state government proposed one stop building plan approval office is a design to strip the local government of one of their major source of revenue, but suggested a more coordinated approach such that the councils will not be totally left out in this regard.

It would be recalled that the state commissioner for urban development, Dr. T.W. Danagogo in a press statement recently stated that a new legislation which would restrict local government from giving approval for building plan would be forward to the state assembly.

Under the proposed law, all such approval would be an exclusive preserve of the Ministry of Urban Development and the Greater Port Harcourt Development Authority (GPHDA), as part of the present administration’s effort to ensure standards.

Stories by Corlins Walter