Architects Institute cracks down on fake architects, illegal practice

The Ghana Institute of Architects (GIA) has started a nationwide crackdown on individuals impersonating architects and foreign professionals practising illegally.

This follows the arrest of a suspect using a duplicated architect’s stamp and registration number belonging to a licensed architect.

The President of the GIA and a Board Member of the Architects Registration Council (ARC), Tony Asare, disclosed this in an interview in Accra.

Mr Asare said the case came to light after concerns were raised over the authenticity of an architectural stamp used to endorse building drawings submitted to a client.

A registered architect subsequently sought verification of the stamp at the GIA Secretariat, where officials discovered discrepancies in the identity associated with the stamp.

Investigations

Further investigations allegedly revealed that the suspect, identified as Fiati Kwame Edwin, who is not a registered architect, had been using the registration number and identity of Architect Anthony Parker-London, a licensed architect based in Tema, to illegally endorse building drawings.

“We discovered that somebody had impersonated an architect. The architect whose registration number was used is Anthony Parker-London.

The suspect used the architect’s registration number and identity to stamp drawings illegally,” Mr Asare said.

He explained that the suspect was arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service on Tuesday, May 12, this year, following a joint operation between the police and the institute.

The duplicated stamp has since been retrieved as part of ongoing investigations.

Mr Asare said the GIA was determined to pursue the matter to its logical conclusion to ensure that offenders faced prosecution.

“We are not backing down.

We are going to pursue this matter and ensure that the duplication of stamps and the impersonation of architects are dealt with according to the law,” he said.

Foreign architects

The GIA president also issued a strong warning to foreign architects and firms operating in Ghana without the requisite registration and licensing from the GIA and the Architects Registration Council.

He stated that the institute was aware of several foreign practitioners undertaking projects in the country without complying with Ghana’s legal requirements governing architectural practice.

“If you practise in this country according to law, you must be registered.

If not, you have contravened the law, and for every day you practise illegally, you are liable to fines of 12 penalty units,” he said.

Mr Asare further disclosed that some foreign firms had erected oversized billboards and undertaken projects without satisfying the legal requirements regulating the profession, adding that the Institute would not hesitate to pursue legal action against offenders.

He also appealed to metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to verify the credentials and stamps of architects before approving building drawings.

“The law requires drawings to be endorsed by qualified architects and professionals.

If assemblies fail to verify after we have given them the means to do so, then they become complicit,” he warned.

Mr Asare urged developers and members of the public to use the GIA online portal to verify architects before engaging their services.