Institute of Construction marks anniversary
The Ghana Institute of Construction (GIOC), a group made up of Ghanaian professionals in the construction industry, has blamed the rise in the collapse of buildings and fire outbreaks in the country on the influx of unqualified professionals in the building and construction industry.
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It said the industry was flooded with people with no professional expertise parading as contractors and undertaking sub-standard jobs leading to accidents, loss of lives and properties running into millions of cedis.
“The upsurge of fires causing extensive damage to public and private property; fires at public places such as markets are caused, among other things, by the use of poor quality electrical products, work done by unqualified electricians and contractors and poor supervision, among others,” it said.
Even though some of these accidents were avoidable and could be averted through basic interventions, the institution observed that they kept happening time and again.
At the launch of the 20th anniversary of the institute, the National President of GIOC, Professor Joshua Ayarkwa, said the problem had been compounded with the lax in regulation in the industry.
He said although the built environment sector was replete with policies, regulations and other guidance documents, “the problem, however, is with the implementation of these policies and regulations”.
“Lack of effective controls and enforcement of regulations within the Ghanaian construction industry and the built environment sector has led to lawlessness in the sector,” he said.
Regrettably, he said, the response from the authorities to these incidents had been knee-jerk reactions leaving the real causes unaddressed.
“We cannot as a society continue the practice where anyone without the relevant knowledge or expertise can claim to be a contractor or supervise construction and not suffer the consequences,” Prof. Ayarkwa stated.
Role of professionals
Sharing his views on the role of professionals in the industry, Mr Amoah Mensah, a founder member of the institute, asked professionals to stand up and retake their position within the industry as their life depended on it.
He said members did not have to accept the status quo but strive to change it and let their works speak for itself.