Ghana Institute of Construction launches Construction Excellence Awards
The Ghana Institute of Construction, an umbrella body of construction engineers has launched its first ever award ceremony to honour builders who have excelled in the industry for the past 20 years.
Advertisement
The maiden event comes off at the Alisa Hotel on Monday, September 28, 2015, to honour deserving industry players from amongst surveyors, construction engineers, building managers and others who have played vital roles in the real estate industry. A committee of eminent people has been tasked to select those deserving of honours.
Speaking at a media briefing Friday, the President of the association, Professor Joshua Ayarkwa said the award is to recognize and reward individuals and organisations who have dedicated their lives to hard work and professionalism in the construction industry.
According to Professor Ayarkwa, the purpose for instituting the awards programme is to champion the cause of the construction industry which he said has not been given the needed recognition it deserves.
The inability of government to recognise professional bodies whose objective is to ensure all constructions in the country are up to standard has been one of the major challenges confronting the industry, he noted.
He added that “The government and the general public need to know of our existence due to the critical role we play in the construction industry.”
Professor Ayarkwa said the association has over 500 paid up members and periodically engages them in continued professional development in order to educate them against shoddy work and corrupt practices.
Head of the Building Technology Department at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr Bernard Baiden, who threw more light on building collapses in the country, explained that building collapses are mainly due to faulty structural designs, poor materials or unskilled construction engineers. He said such issues require investigations and expert opinions which their association is willing to offer but not mandated yet to do so.
Other Trending Stories
He said building collapses are national issues which require the input of all key players and stakeholders in the construction industry in order to find lasting solutions to them.
He said in a lot of instances, building collapses, apart from profit motivation, could be put at the doorstep of contractors who do not employ qualified personnel, and added that even though there are laws that restrict the erection of certain buildings, corruption makes it difficult for the government, clients and even professionals to follow due process.
“The issue of building collapses is a big problem facing the country and until we see it as a big problem we will never find solutions,” he added.
According Dr Baiden, building collapses and other avoidable construction damages could be avoided if there was a collaborative effort between government and construction stakeholders.
“A lot was said about the effects on the economy and we use every available opportunity to talk to our members about shoddy works, corruption, and technical knowledge on how to deal with specific problems in the industry,” he added.
He added that government must recognize the need for a unified construction professional body to deal with issues about construction in the country, saying, building collapses is a problem for the image of the country which is not just an institutional issue but governmental issue as well, and dealing with a national issue involves bringing all the key players, stakeholders together.
Mr. Gabby Mattouk, founder and CEO of Parakuo Ltd, the lead sponsor for the event presented a cheque of Gh¢15,000 to support the awards.
He said the initiative was a laudable one and therefore worthy of support it. He said his company is introducing new technologies into the building industry.