Mahama orders sanctions for officials who fail to enforce building safety rules

President John Dramani Mahama has directed the Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, to hold accountable officials who fail to enforce building safety regulations. This order comes in response to a series of building collapses in Ghana, with over 75 recorded over the past five years and an estimated one to three multi-storey building failures annually.

Mahama emphasized the need for stronger enforcement of building regulations at the district assembly level during a National Conference on Housing Finance. He expressed concern over the continued construction of buildings despite stop-work orders issued by local authorities and warned that failure to enforce these regulations could have fatal consequences.

The President also called for broader measures to improve housing conditions, addressing issues such as overcrowding in slums, insecure land tenure, poor sanitation, and inadequate access to basic utilities.

Brief written by urgent.news from Adom Online's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.