EPA orders ‘stop work’ on Ashaley Botwe storey building [VIDEO]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered for construction work to stop on the storey building at Ashaley Botwe School junction, which has attracted public discussion over safety concerns.

Construction work is still ongoing on the storey building project located around School Junction at Ashaley Botwe in Accra in the Adentan Municipality.

The contractor has reached the 6th-floor and indications are that it would go further up.

It has attracted public attention on social media and some have started talking about safety and structure integrity.

Whilst some are arguing that there is nothing wrong with it, others think there was a problem with the structural integrity of the building.

The project has reached the 6th floor and indications are that it will go further up.

On social media, those arguing that there was nothing wrong with the project concludes that you cannot determine a structural integrity of a project by a mere look at a video or a picture.

They have therefore called for structural engineers to examine it and conclude whether it was safe or not.

Others however have argued that, there was everything wrong with a mere look of the project.

The Executive Director of the EPA, Mr Henry Kwabena Kokofu, who visited the project site Monday morning, [November 16, 2020] ordered that construction work should immediately cease.

He said the EPA had not given a permit for the project  and was not sure whether other agencies with such responsibilities have also given permit for it.

He consequently asked that the owner of the building to visit the office of the EPA with the necessary documentation covering the project.

Graphic Online visited the site on Monday morning at 10:30am.

Whist there, personnel form the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), led by the Director of Inspectorate, Mr Richard Amo Yartey also visited the site.

Mr Yartey told Graphic Online that the Director General of NADMO had sent them there to assess the project.

He said NADMO was going to consult with other agencies and take a decision on the project.

The owner of the building and the contractor as well as workers were not available at the site at the time of the visit.

Graphic Online observed that the project itself was standing on the fence wall of the adjacent land on its right side.

There is a shop next to the fence wall.

Some residents told Graphic Online that the shop owner had closed the shop and stopped operating it after a metal from the project site fell on the shop.

Another resident told Graphic Online that some government officials have been frequenting the project site since it commenced but the construction work is still ongoing.

Writer's email: enoch.frimpong@graphic.com.gh 

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Watch a video of the building below