LET'S RESPECT REGULATIONS (NOV 3, 2010)

GONE were the days when the city of Accra was seen as a well planned city befitting its status as the gateway to Ghana. In the early days of independent Ghana, laws worked, people obeyed laws and the syndrome of “whom you know” was non-existent.
Today, however, virtually all major cities in Ghana can be described, at best, as big slums. The problem is not far-fetched. Laws have become nothing but mere words in the statute books as they are breached with impunity.
Institutions mandated to do their jobs have failed to do what they are, by right and law, established to accomplish.
One of the results of the inaction of statutory institutions is the haphazard development in which buildings and structures are scattered all over the city, destroying the beauty of Accra.
The call by Prof Jacob Songsore of the University of Ghana to enforce the building regulations in the country is a step in the right direction.
The Daily Graphic has on countless occasions called for the right policies to deal with the canker of haphazard siting of buildings and structures springing up in the cities, even in areas classified as first class residential areas.
Not that we are frustrated at the apparent inertia on the part of authorities to crack the whip, but it is our mandate and duty to alert the authorities about the nuisance and threat that the trend poses to the citizens.
The yearly flooding that the city of Accra experiences with its resultant death toll is one that should wake us up from our slumber to act with despatch to preserve human lives.
But the problem goes further to even those issuing legal permits in areas that are clearly not suitable for buildings and structures.
Areas such as water courses, swampy areas, low lands and even to some extent lands close to the sea as is the case at Mpoase, near Dansoman in Accra have all been developed into residential areas.
It is not for nothing that even the spilling of water by the Volta River Authority (VRA) is anticipated to cause some discomfort for people living along the banks of many rivers in the country.
What the country needs is the strict enforcement of the laws. Beyond that there is the need for public education to sensitise the citizenry to the need to follow the rules and regulations of land acquisition and development in the country.
It is not just enough to break down buildings; rather it would be much easier preventing the buildings from springing up.
This year most parts of the country are flooded because of the spillage of the Bagre Dam and heavy rains in other areas.
The Daily Graphic believes the devastation caused to life and property would have been on a much lesser scale if residents in those areas had followed laid-down building regulations.
Some of the people in even the rural areas have constructed houses on water courses or very close to water bodies and any amount of rain causes havoc in those communities.
It is sad that when the challenges emerge as a result of wrongful actions, we are quick to lay the blame at the door of the government.
The Daily Graphic calls on the statutory authorities to sit up and make sure that the building regulations are followed by all in the country.
We also urge all developers to respect the country’s building regulations.