President John Dramani Mahama has directed the Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, to ensure that officials responsible for enforcing building safety regulations are held accountable when structural failures occur.

He said officials tasked with ensuring the safety of buildings must be identified and sanctioned if they fail to properly enforce the relevant regulations.

President Mahama made the remarks on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at the National Conference on Housing Finance, where he called for stronger enforcement of building regulations at the district assembly level.

He expressed concern about buildings continuing to be constructed despite stop-work orders issued by local authorities, insisting that such directives must be enforced.

“More often than not, you see red paint stop work, and yet the work continues. And you wonder what’s happening,” President Mahama said.

“And one day they are working, and the whole house comes tumbling down. You ask, who gave the permit for that building?”

The President said accountability must be established whenever a building collapses, particularly where regulatory officials failed to perform their duties.

“These are things that the Ministry of Local Government should take very seriously. If a house collapses, we must see whose duty it was to ensure that that house was safe, and that person must be sanctioned for it,” he said.

President Mahama said the issue must be addressed at the district assembly level, where building permits are issued and compliance with safety requirements is monitored.

His comments come amid concerns over structural failures in Ghana, with more than 75 building collapses estimated to have been recorded across the country over the past five years, while an estimated one to three multi-storey building failures occur annually.

Beyond building safety, President Mahama called for broader measures to improve housing conditions, including tackling overcrowding in slums, insecure land tenure, poor sanitation and inadequate access to utilities.

“We must also ensure that the homes we build are safe, accessible and connected to jobs and essential services,” he said.