PSD nod for 533 new posts

By NG CHENG YEE

chengyee@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: The Public Service Department (PSD) has approved 533 new posts for the coordination work of one-stop centres (OSCs) for fast-track approval of housing projects.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said the approval had been made by PSD early this month for the ministry to recruit town planners, technical assistants and supporting staff for the new centres.

He said the recruitment would be made based on the needs of local authorities.

There are 94 local authorities in the peninsula which will be setting up the OSCs and there will be a grace period of two months for those involved to prepare themselves before the operation of the OSCs starts in June.

“The ministry will also send over 40 town planners to some strategic local authorities where there is a lot of development going on,” he said at the 16th South-East Asian Geotechnical Conference 2007 here yesterday.

On April 13, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced comprehensive changes to the property development sector, as part of his move to improve the public delivery system.

Among the initiatives announced were the setting-up of one-stop centres in every state for fast-track approvals for housing projects, replacing the Certificate of Fitness for Occupancy (CFO) with the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) and giving incentives to developers who adopt the Build-Then-Sell (BTS) concept.

Earlier in his speech, Ong said the setting up of the OSC required cooperation from all stakeholders including engineers to assume full responsibility for the tasks they are entrusted with.