Cape Coast ministries building is a death trap

The Cape Coast Ministries buildings and other state and private ones which have been neglected and have become dilapidated are a source of worry to me.

I refer to the earlier incident of six KG school pupils who died in the classroom when their school building collapsed on them at Breman Gyambra in the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa District in the Central Region.

I was very ashamed when I saw a story in the Daily Graphic of February 13, 2017 with the headline, “Submit data on all dilapidated school buildings. GES direct directors,” after the Breman Gyambra incident, when these school buildings could have been renovated earlier to avert that sad incident.

The Melcom disaster which occurred as a result of a collapsed building on November 7, 2012, in Accra, ending up in the death of 14 people made up of shoppers and workers, and leaving over 78 people with serious injuries, also comes to mind. This means that many Ghanaians are at risk of government, private and commercial building facilities collapsing.

I have realised that several publications have been made on this particular building appealing to the Regional Coordinating Council which has the oversight responsibility to renovate this building but all have proved futile.

My appeal has become more imperative because almost all government institutions in the region have their head offices located in this particular five-storey building which is located about 100 metres away from the Cape Coast castle, behind the GCB Bank and opposite the SSNIT building and Barclays Bank.

Due to its importance, hundreds of people visit the building daily to transact business. The building which has two entry points, was built in the early 1970s, by General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, according to sources.

Among these organisations are the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Ghana Education Service (GES), Audit Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Small-Scale Advisory Board, Information Services Department, Cocobod; and the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department.

I was very impressed when I heard the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited (AESL) has been tasked to examine the Cape Coast Court Complex, which was also in a similar situation.

According to the Ghana Institution of Surveyors, every building requires structural soundness, meaning that columns and beams designed should strong enough to carry more be than the maximum loads that will be imposed on the structure but it seems this Cape Coast ministries building now does not meet that standard in a sense that when I visited a friend within, I realised that some of the iron rods were exposed and cracks had developed, thereby posing a serious threat to both occupants and visitors.
When it rains, the building leaks badly. According to the occupants, they sometimes carry their documents to other offices where they think they will be safe and return them when the weather becomes favourable, and that is a great inconvenience.

Another concern is that the toilet facilities of some departments are in a horrible state.

The main switch at the side of the building is also rusted. Some wires have been exposed. The building is also not disability friendly. And this I find unacceptable.

I am, therefore, appealing to the government, corporate bodies and other stakeholders to intervene in this matter to prevent disaster.

I hope that after this publication, something positive will be done about the building.

The writer is a Citizen Reporter