EDITORIAL: Enforcing Our Building Code

Two separate incidents over the last week-end have exposed the dangers inherent in our persistent neglect to follow appropriate building codes in this country.

The first incident was the stampede at the Balme Library, University of Ghana, Legon, in which a number of students got injured, some seriously.

The story has it that while about 800 students were writing an examination in the three-storey library a ceiling fan caught fire, leading to pandemonium as the students tried to get out of the library.

The stampede was worsened, leading to the increase in injury cases; because the Balme Library has no emergency exits on the first and second floors,

The result was that all the 800 students, then writing the examination, forced their way through the single exit from the upper floors.

One student who obviously could not stand the frustration involved in trying to escape through the single exit reportedly jumped from the second floor to the ground, injuring himself seriously.

The other incident was the fire outbreak in a private house along the Spintex Road in Accra last Sunday.

Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service who rushed to the scene could not be of much help since they could not locate any fire hydrant in the area from which to draw water. Later searches indicated that there was no fire hydrant in that part of the city.

The CHRONICLE recalls that when the Fire Service carried out mock rescue operations in a number of high rise buildings in the city of Accra some months ago, they came out with the chilling discovery that most of the tall structures, including the Cedi House, had no emergency exit.

This failure and/or refusal to abide by building and planning regulations has become a regular feature of our national life, and this has accounted for a number of disasters and tragedies that could have been avoided.

Floods in Accra have often been blamed on the construction of houses and other structures along waterways. What happened to the Secaps Hotel during the 28th June heavy downpour is a glaring example.

The then Minister for Works and Housing, Mr. Kwamena Bartels, announced at that time that his ministry was going to embark on an exercise to demolish all structures erected across water courses and in other unauthorized areas.

Ghanaians are still awaiting the take-off of this exercise that will rid the city of those structures that flout our building regulations.

One of the contributory factors to the failure of developers to observe building and planning regulations is the fact that the city of Accra (and all other Ghanaian cities and urban centers) are spreading in a haphazard manner.

In fact, some suburbs do spring up before the planning authorities become aware of their existence. The result is that their suburbs develop without proper planning.

And since we do not have that culture of pulling down illegally constructed structures in this country, the problem persists.

The Accra Metropolitan Authority and especially the Town and Country Planning Department have to put their feet down to ensure that developers conform to building and planning regulations.

Corrupt officials who condone the construction of unauthorized structures must be identified and weeded out to bring sanity into our cities.

Public aloofness has also been a contributory factor. Residents often look on when access roads are blocked, or plots set aside for markets, schools or other social facilities are sold to individuals.

Vigilance on the part of residents can help avert some to these illegal practices.

Above all, the law must be made to take its course so that developers who flout building and planning regulations are made to face the full rigours of the law.