More Than 4,000 Building Permits Issued By Local Authorities

More than 4,000 building permits, valued at $130.6 billion, were issued by the Local Authorities in the last financial year.

This is a 24.5 per cent increase over the total number of building permits issued in the 2020/2021 financial year.

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, made the disclosure during his contribution to the 2022/23 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 25.

He pointed out that 83 per cent of these permits were issued within the benchmark 90-day period.

“In the last financial year, 4,542 applications for permits were received, reflecting an investment value of $171.5 billion. This is an 11 per cent increase over the number of applications submitted in the previous financial year,” Mr. McKenzie said.

He added that of the applications submitted, 89 per cent was for residential developments.

Of this percentage, 63 per cent reflected small residential projects, with the remaining 26 per cent being large residential projects.

Meanwhile, Mr. McKenzie said one of the Government’s priorities when it took office in 2016 was to raise the standards of accountability and governance in the Local Authorities.

“We have improved the oversight of the Local Authorities through better and more frequent auditing by the Ministry,” he stated.

The Minister also informed that a submission to name Portmore as a parish is almost ready for the consideration of Cabinet, after which instructions will be given for a Bill to be drafted for Parliamentary review.

In February this year, the Parliament approved a motion to name Portmore as Jamaica’s 15th parish.