Officers of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) Headquarters and other institutions took part in a Consultative Stakeholders’ Forum on Collapsed Buildings and Matters Arising, organised by the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry held at the Christ The King Parish Conference Hall on Wednesday, May 31, 2023.

The forum which was chaired by Surveyor Emmanuel T. Martey (Chairman-GhCCI) was on the theme: “Fostering Collaborative Solutions to Ensuring Structural Integrity within the Construction Industry in Ghana”.

A presentation by the Keynote Speaker, Ing., Seth Bright Attipoe-Denyah, who doubles as the Chairman of Building Code and Regulations, stressed on incorporating building codes in buildings to guarantee its safety and outlined all the structural collapses in the country from 2002 to 2019 and their associated deaths, injuries and damages caused to lives and properties.

He further outlined some major causes of structural collapse which include lack of systematic inspection/supervision at various construction stages; faulty structural designs; regulatory non-compliance and unforeseen extraordinary loading (e.g. earthquake etc).

Ing., Attipoe-Denyah, however, proposed that to forestall the spate of structural collapses in the country, there must be conscious effort of stakeholders in the built environment to collaborate with the media to educate the public on the relevant laws and regulations on building construction and the processes of acquiring relevant permits.

He said there should be rigorous enforcement of laws and regulations governing putting up buildings by all Stakeholders in the built environment and the criminalization of non-compliance by land developers.

Participants at the forum included representations from the Ministry of Local Government, LUSPA, NDPC, PPA, CSIR, Ghana Standard Authority, AESL, Architects Registration Council, Engineering Council, Ghana National Fire Service and Ghana Armed Forces.