March 5, 2020//-The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has presented copies of the Ghana Building Code to all the 23 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Western and Western North regions, in a nationwide campaign to enhance public safety.
The document provides guidelines on suitable location to build, material quality, accessibilityto all among other vitalbuilding elements.
It is expected to help tackle challenges such as frequent collapse of buildings, firefighting difficulties caused by inaccessibility among others, allarising from weak regulations.
As Ghana strives to address her 1.7 billion infrastructure deficits, experts have called for intense regulation of the construction industry to ensure buildings are safe for occupancy.
Since its launch in 2018, the GSA has so far presented copies to all MMDAs in 10 of Ghana’s 16 regions, and sensitized their respective Chief Executives and engineers on the Code’s implementation.
Western Region
The GSA presented copies of the Ghana Building Code to all the 14 MMDAs in the region at a ceremony, witnessed by the Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah.
The Director General of the GSA, Prof. Alex Dodoo, said the global recognition of the region due to its mineral wealth and contribution to Ghana’s GDP, call for an improvement in the region’s quality control systems to enhance public safety.
“We are appealing to you (local authorities) to enforce the Building Code from now onwards, to enable us all protect the very people we serve. These guidelines must be adhered to before permits are issued to compel developers to conform with safety standards,” he passionately appealed.
The regional minister said the document simplifies the building processes and provides certainty, and therefore must be embraced.
“This document affords us with the opportunity to protect the health of our people, enhance their safety, and improve the socio-economic development of the region,” he said.
Western North Region
Prof. Dodoo after presenting copies of the document announced plans by the GSA to establish its presence in the newly created region, at least by July 2020.
He explained the move forms part of efforts to further decentralize its services and promote local enterprise growth.
The Regional Minister, Hon. Kingsley Aboagye Gyedu, implored the assemblies to deepen collaboration with the GSA to develop the young region tohelp sboosteconomic growth.
From Sani Abdul-Rahman
