As Part of Government Efforts to Enhance Service Quality and Re-engineer Processes..
As part of ongoing government efforts to enhance service quality and re-engineer processes, the Survey and Land Registration Bureau has developed the Building Age Certificate Request Service. The service enables representatives of the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture to inquire about the age of buildings over 50 years old before demolition permits are issued, in cases where building records are unavailable in the approved registers and systems. This contributes to preserving buildings of architectural and historical value and enhancing the efficiency of procedures related to the issuance of demolition permits.
The service development has reduced the processing time from three days to one working day. Other improvements include reducing the number of required documents by 50%, reducing the Service Level Agreement (SLA) by at least 25%, limiting the application process to a maximum of four steps, achieving 100% electronic service delivery, enhancing the user interface and user experience, simplifying procedures, converting application forms into electronic forms, and standardizing published service information across all official channels.
In this regard, Eng. Naji Sabt Salem, Director General of Survey at the Survey and Land Registration Bureau, affirmed that the service development enhances coordination among the relevant government entities and provides an integrated digital mechanism for accessing the required information more quickly and accurately. This supports decision-making related to the issuance of demolition permits and contributes to improving the efficiency of government services.
The Director General of Survey added that the service supports the implementation of laws and decisions issued by the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture concerning buildings that are more than 50 years old, which form part of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s architectural heritage. He noted that determining the age of these buildings presents a challenge when records documenting their construction dates are unavailable or incomplete, despite this information being a fundamental requirement before demolition permits can be issued.
It is worth mentioning that, within the framework of the government’s ongoing efforts to develop and re-engineer government services, more than 1,300 government services have been documented, translated and published, 800 of which have undergone development and re-engineering processes in various government sectors, based on suggestions and observations received regarding government services through the National System for Suggestions and Complaints “Tawasul”, investor feedback, and mystery shopper reports for evaluating government services, as well as the launch of guidance manuals and service level agreements, which contribute to raising the efficiency of procedures, improving the quality of services provided, enhancing the beneficiaries’ experience, and supporting the government’s digital transformation path.