Review built environment laws

THE Ghana Institute of Architects (GIA) has urged the government to review all laws governing built environments which have outlived their usefulness to society in order to meet the changing demands of the deteriorating environment.
It said despite the existence and implementation of these laws and regulations, the built environment was fast deteriorating, particularly within the urban centres and a number of rural communities which have experienced population growth.
Among the laws the institute identified included the Town and Country Planning Ordinance (CAP 84) promulgated in 1945 and updated between 1954 and 1960, National Building Regulations (LI 1630), 1996 and the Local Government Act, 1993 (ACT 462), and many other laws, bye-laws and codes which have not seen any major review over the period of time.
The President of the institute, Mr Osei Kwame Agyeman, at a press conference in Accra, said the current situation regarding the built environment in Ghana did not seem to satisfy the tenets of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy- 2 which sought to ensure the provision of basic needs of Ghanaians.
“What is the level of enforcement and how has the enforcement of these regulations been carried out over the years to ensure the benefits of the built environment for sustainable development” he asked, and pointed out that the disregard for planning schemes had further led to the sprawling of uncontrolled development of both the urban and sub-urban areas in the country.
That, he noted, had been characterised by the development of unplanned settlements and slums which had resulted in haphazard infrastructure development, leading to floods and collapse of buildings.
In view of these, Mr Agyeman said, Accra in particular had become a city of lawlessness,resulting in haphazardly sited kiosks, uncontrolled hawking activities and unplanned streets with dirt and filth all over.
“We need to know what is right because sympathising when these issues are raised is a recipe for disaster,” he added.
These developments, according Mr Tony Saar, a member of the institute and a co-ordinator for the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC), which had provided funds for research by the institute, said these developments contributed to the enormous pressure on the distribution of infrastructure services like water, electricity, road networks and poor accessibility.
The situation, he said, had created an upward surge in mixed development which in certain instances had negative impact on health and as well created difficulty for the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana National Fire Service to readily access some areas in time of emergency.
He said given the number of bodies mandated to ensure that the country’s development was monitored, “one is taken aback with the seemingly uncontrolled pattern of development in the country.
He mentioned such regulatory stakeholders to include the district assemblies, the Lands Commission, the Survey Department, the Lands Title Registry Department, the Department of Urban Roads, the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, the Public Works Department and the professional bodies of the built environment.
To address some of these issues, he said, the institute had sought the support of the BUSAC to undertake a study on the “The Adverse Impact of Non-Enforcement of Building and Development Controls” in areas including the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, the Tema Metropolitan Assembly and Development Corporation, the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, the Awutu Senya District Assembly and the Ga Dangme West District Assembly.
He said the study, in the area of enforcement encouraged the government to institute, a ‘Building Police Force” to ensure that buildings did not commence without permits, and recommended that the force should be trained both formally and informally, with the minimum academic qualification for it to be in tandem with that of the building inspectors stipulated in the National Building Regulation.
“It also encouraged the government to set up an oversight body under the National Development Planning Committee to oversee physical development”, he indicated.
He added that the study further urged the government to improve the capacity of the assemblies to enrich their understanding of building regulation.
Mr Asare tasked the GIA and other sister bodies to bring on board Licensed Building Surveyors/Druaghtsmen into their fold for regulation and supervision.
Mrs Josephine Akoto-Bamfo, a member of the institute, also called for the external training of chiefs, land owners, staff of assemblies and the land sector agencies to enable them to obtain first hand experience on development issues.“There should be harmonisation of the procedures for the building and development control to develop on standard set of regulations for the assemblies to operate with, ” she emphasised.
“It takes boldness to pull down buildings on waterways. We need to leave our emotions behind and focus on the enforcement of regulations, ” she said.
She bemoaned the procedure where officials of the Town and Country Planning Department had to buy base maps from the Survey Department before they could undertake any study, and called for an integration of the socio-economic and physical agenda of the country.