The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has called on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to step up enforcement of building regulations following the collapse of a structure at the North Industrial Area in Accra.
The Interior Minister is urging Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) and local government authorities to strictly enforce building regulations to prevent future construction-related disasters.
Speaking to the media at the scene, he says the responsibility for issuing building permits lies with district assemblies, stressing that other state agencies such as the Ghana National Fire Service and the Police Service do not have the mandate to approve building siting.
“In terms of building permits, it is the district assembly that is responsible. That is why I am calling on the local government ministry and the assemblies to rise up,” he said.
The Daily Searchlight fully supports the call by the Minister for the Interior. Ghana has for many years been plagued with incidents of buildings collapsing, without anybody being held to account.
It seems that many contractors who put up buildings are in a hurry to make quick and large profits, and are quite willing to do so to the detriment of public safety.
Before the latest incident at North Industrial Area in Accra, the city had recorded a similar incident at Adenta New Site, in which there had been deaths.
It is clear that this is becoming a societal problem, and it is necessary that we conduct investigations to establish culpability, if any, starting with the engineering departments of the two assemblies affected.
We must begin to keep the standard when it comes to building in Ghana, and that starts with ensuring accountability where buildings fall.
(Editorial of the Daily Searchlight of 8th June, 2026).
