Ghana Chamber of Construction holds local government accountable for collapsed buildings
The Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) have been singled out by the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry as being directly responsible for the collapse of four active construction projects in the nation over the course of the last two weeks.
The Chamber is of the opinion that the primary reason for the fallen constructions was the MMDAs’ inability to efficiently evaluate the work of land developers wanting to construct buildings.
According to the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry, some land developers use dubious engineers to oversee construction projects and scrimp on quality.
In an interview with Citi FM, Mr. Emmanuel Cherry, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry, discussed the matter.
He urged authorities to punish land developers who disobey regulations governing structural integrity.
Mr. Cherry claims that the nation possesses cutting-edge technologies that can only be operated by experts, yet developers frequently employ untrained individuals who are unable to do the high-quality job required.
Another key issue in the sector, according to the CEO, is some MMDAs’ inadequate evaluation of workers’ performance. He highlighted that the issue of collapsing buildings will continue until the authorities take strict action against them.
“There are technologies in the system that are well advanced, that can only be manned by professionals. But what do we see? Developers just fall on any roadside mason, call them to site and give them whatsoever amount of money and then expect them to deliver quality for them. Some of the MMDAs also fail to effectively assess the work of land developers. These are some of the challenges we are having as an industry. So until we crack the whip, it will be very difficult to arrest the menace,” Mr. Cherry said.
A stakeholder engagement would be held the following week to address the issues raised by the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry, according to Mr. Cherry. The essential findings and suggestions to enhance the practices of the industry will be made public during the interaction.
The CEO made a suggestion that any mistakes made by stakeholders, including those made by government organizations, would be their responsibility.
In addition to the UDS City Campus in Sagnarigu and the two distinct three-story buildings that collapsed in Madina and Adentan in Accra, the most recent building collapse was at the Word In Action Church in ancient Bortianor.
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