Building laws are flouted because they’re stringent & outmoded – Expert

President of the Institute of Planners, Alfred Kwesi Opoku, says the stringent nature of Ghana’s building regulations is to be blamed for the wanton disregard for the law.

According to him, the Legislative Instrument 1630 governing the housing sector and land management in Ghana, which has not seen review in 20 years, does not meet the current standards in the sector.

“The natural law is that when laws are too difficult to obey you break it, and so people are breaking the laws not because they want to, but because what exist does not meet the recent standards,” he told 3FM.

He was speaking to 3FM on the sidelines of a workshop to present a report by World Bank on strengthening urban resilience in Ghana.

Mr Opoku underscored the need for an immediate review of the national building regulations in order to meet the changing needs of society as well as stand the competition on the market.

“We need to regulate and review these laws so that people will build according to plan”, he said, noting that is the surest way that Ghana can meet its key development goals. “Enforcement of laws is very key”, he added.