Collapsing buildings becoming worryingly rampant

Last Saturday, a three-storey building collapsed at Cantonments in Accra, claiming three lives and injuring 18 others.

The crumbling of buildings has resulted from sheer negligence on the part of both the builders and the building inspectors charged to oversee such construction.

As happened in last Saturday’s incident, the owner did not only flout the order by the La Dadekotopon Municipal Assembly to stop construction but is also reported to have glossed over a defect that had been detected earlier in the building.

While we do not want to spite or speak ill of the dead, we believe that a little caution on the part of the deceased owner of the structure and the builders could have averted the calamity that we witnessed over the weekend.

We find it incomprehensible that although Ghana is blessed with many professional groups, such as the Ghana Institute of Architects, the Ghana Institution of Engineers, among many construction professionals, we continue to put up buildings that do not meet the required standards.

Some buildings are put up with inferior or sub-standard materials because the builders want to maximise their gain, to the detriment of the final users and occupants of such buildings.

Who ensures that masons working on a building use the right mix of cement, sand and stones for construction? Who certifies the right size or thickness of iron rods to be used for pillars in a building? Who checks on the block factories dotted all over the country to ensure they are not producing sub-standard cement or landcrete blocks?

Do we even have measurements and standards for all the building materials that are used in building construction? And who ensures that they are complied with?

We, therefore, urge the professional bodies in engineering and the building industry to let their presence be felt by helping to avert such calamities. We find that they have been too quiet, making their silence too ‘loud’ and so they have given space to charlatans parading as contractors to build anyhow and with any material they lay hands on.

The end result, we all know, has not only been shoddy work but also the loss of huge investments and lives.

Others that we believe need to step up their game are building inspectors employed by the state and who are paid with the taxpayer’s money. We feel that if those employed to instill discipline in the building industry are held responsible for any construction that goes on in their jurisdiction, they will not allow shoddy work to go on, knowing that their jobs and reputations are on the line.

The Daily Graphic believes that this is the time for all who matter in the building and construction industry to rise and bring their expertise to bear on all ongoing projects in the country, be they private or public, to forestall further loss of lives and investments.