File photo: Government to pull down buildings that do not meet building requirements
Indiscriminately constructed buildings which do not conform to the required building regulations are likely to be pulled down when government completes amending the building code.
“The building everywhere and anyhow mentality cannot continue with the passage and enforcement of the law we pray this august house will make,” Works and Housing Minister, Samuel Atta Akyea, told parliament on World Habitat Day celebrated on October 2.
The ministry, he said, is in the process of amending the Building Regulations LI 1630 of 1996 to reflect the revised Building Code.
The Draft Ghana Building Code, which was put together by the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) in 1988, has been reviewed by the Ministry of Works and Housing and its stakeholders and is ready for adoption.
The minister also disclosed that in view of the increasing demand for the development of high rise buildings and its implications for shared ownership of common areas, and also to maximise limited land space, the ministry is seeking cabinet approval before a final bill on condominium properties is drafted by the Attorney General’s Department.
Government is determined to address the housing deficit, through partnerships with the private sector in the provision of affordable housing units of different typologies to meet the demands of Ghanaians, he said.
The Ministry of Works and Housing is implementing the Affordable Housing Programme aimed at providing adequate, decent affordable housing, particularly to low- and middle-income groups.
Recognising low income levels as a challenge on the demand side of housing in Ghana, the ministry’s focus is how to make housing affordable. To achieve this goal, “We are adopting cost-saving technologies and new techniques of construction, as well as innovative mortgage financing,” he added.
One of the major bottlenecks facing housing delivery in Ghana is financing. Government is therefore adopting a two-pronged approach to mobilise funds both domestically and internationally to support the Housing sector.
