The building industry is fraught with many irregularities largely as a result of the general breakdown in discipline in our society. The apparent boom in the building industry has also brought about an increase in the number of building technologists and artisans some of whom engage in shoddy work.
Everyone requires a place to lay his or her head especially at a time when landlords are demanding prohibitive rent advance payments. Many people, including salaried workers, are working hard to own their houses in order to escape the huge high-handedness of some landlords.
It is said that in the West Africa sub-region, it is only in Ghana that landlords demand rent advance for more than a year.
The challenges in the housing industry has rendered the Rent Control Office irrelevant as it is unable to resolve the differences between tenants and landlords. At best they are able to delay quit orders issued by the landlords but the rent control office is not able to stop landlords from flouting rent regulations.
Some landlords even collect rent advance payments for three years or more when the regulations mandate that rent advance payments should not exceed six months. All these frustrations on the housing landscape have culminated into the mushrooming of all kinds of structures as houses.
The construction of most houses in the country contravenes the housing regulations. Apart from the houses springing up at unauthorised places, the construction is done by unqualified artisans. Another challenge is that there is no land use regulation working in the country as developers put up structures at places even reserved for public use.
The Daily Graphic finds it difficult to appreciate the impunity with which many developers put up structures across the country even in circumstances where these sub-standard structures are claiming lives and properties.
It will be difficult to count the number of structures that have collapsed as a result of the rise of sub-standard materials and the structures not conforming to the laid-down regulations. The problem with our country is that we are not prepared to respect any rules put in place to regulate our endeavours. That is why many law-abiding citizens are hesitant in welcoming new regulations when the existing ones are flouted with impunity. There are many regulations in our statutes which if respected, will help to promote orderly development in the society.
The situation on the building landscape appears to be chaotic because of our utter disrespect for the rules and regulations and that explains why more slums are emerging in our cities.
Accra and other cities are growing by leaps and bounds but the developments there do not conform to any standards. In such communities there are no good roads, utilities such as water and electricity. Developers have encroached on land reserved for schools, markets and playing fields.
It is against this background that the Daily Graphic welcomes the initiative by the Ghana Institute of Architects to review the National Building Regulations 1996 LI 1630.
According to the Honourary Secretary of the Council of Architects, Mr Tony Asare, the initiative is aimed at meeting contemporary challenges in the building environment. In the wake of the Melcom disaster at Achimota in Accra last year and the collapse of other buildings in the country, the Daily Graphic urges all the stakeholders to find ways of ensuring that all brick and mortar works conform to the Building Code.
We are worried that the statutory bodies and the security agencies are unable to enforce the laws to ensure that the people abide by the rules. The Daily Graphic has said time and again that the country makes no progress if the authorities allow impunity to take law-abiding citizens hostage.
While the Ghana Institute of Architects are working to bring the regulations in line with present day best practices, we urge all developers to engage qualified people to design and build their houses for them. That is the only way we can get out of the trap of the growing incidence of collapse of public and private buildings.
Source: Graphic Ghana
