Implement engineering law to avoid collapsed buildings - Aniagyei
The President of the Ghana Institution of Engineers (GhIE), Mr Ben Richard Aniagyei, has blamed the recent spate of collapsed buildings in the country on the failure to implement the Engineering Council Law.
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He said although the law was passed in 2011, its implementation had been in limbo leading to what he described as a vacuum in regulation.
“It is because there is no regulation of engineering practice in Ghana. The law is not functioning. People believe that all buildings under construction in Ghana are the work of engineers. It is not so,” he told the Daily Graphic on the fringes of the 2014 Annual GhIE Conference in Accra.
“Providing Sustainable Solutions for Improved Quality of Life: The Role of the Engineer,” is the theme of the week-long event that is bringing together engineers across Ghana and parts of Africa to deliberate on how the profession could play a pivotal role in growth and development.
New engineers were inducted as part of the programme.
GhIE President
Mr Aniagyei expressed worry about public anger towards engineers when buildings collapse, saying “when the building collapses, then the blame is put on the doorstep of the engineer; in reality, all manner of people gather masons and put up buildings. This is what is happening. If any of our members are found to have built structures that collapse, there is an appropriate punishment.”
He was, however, optimistic that there would be a long-lasting solution to the menace when the government inaugurates the Engineering Council to sanitise the profession and protect lives and properties.
Among other functions, the Council will determine the limits to areas of engineering practice and operation, maintain and publish annual registers for engineering practitioners in the country and of great importance, advise the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing on engineering matters.
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Mr Aniagyei said the country had come to a point where engineers rather than politicians had to lead the country.
He said the day of the Parliamentary adage that “ you’ll have your say and we’ll have our way” was long gone and that it was time to do away with engineers giving advice that was ignored by politicians.
Brazilian Ambassador
The Brazilian Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Irene Vida Gala, who opened the conference, made a strong case for much stronger collaboration between Ghana and Brazil in the engineering field, given that the two countries had similar challenges.
Bui Power Chief Executive
The Chief Executive of Bui Power Mr Jabesh Amissah-Arthur, the keynote speaker for the opening ceremony, observed that besides the technical challenges that had affected the energy sector, telecommunication, water and sewerage, and transportation, there was the problem that could be attributed in part to non-engineering issues, including financing, planning and governance.
“The absence of non-technical component is, in my view, the significant deficiency in the engagement of engineers with society and this has limited our ability to play our role effectively to impact our society more profoundly,” he added.
He, therefore, challenged the engineering community to, among other things, understand the nature and character of the challenges facing their communities.