The President of the Ghana Institute of Architects, Tony Asare, has called for urgent action to protect lives following the collapse of a building at Accra Newtown, warning that Ghana is failing to prioritise public safety.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday, 30 March, Mr Asare said repeated building collapses reveal deep weaknesses in enforcement, regulation, and professional oversight.

“This country must take the safety of its people seriously,” he said, describing the situation as frustrating. He noted that similar warnings have been issued over the years with little change.

“It’s even difficult to comment because we’ve done this over and over again. First and foremost, we need to ask ourselves why this keeps happening,” he added.

Mr Asare questioned whether the issue lies in a lack of expertise or a failure to enforce standards.

“Don’t we have competent architects in this country? Don’t we have competent structural engineers? What is the assembly doing when it comes to development control and ensuring that quality assurance is achieved on all sites?”

The Accra Newtown incident, which occurred on Sunday, involved an uncompleted structure within the premises of the Accra New Town Experimental Basic School — a site also used by Christian worshippers.

He cautioned that religious activities in such spaces can exacerbate structural weaknesses.

“In our churches, we do a lot of drumming and singing. These activities actually set buildings on resonance and can even weaken them further,” he explained.

Mr Asare said many buildings in Ghana fail to meet required standards, highlighting deficiencies in quality control and supervision.

“A lot of our buildings do not meet standards, but we need to investigate whether it is due to materials, lack of competent workmanship, or because we do not pay attention to quality control and quality assurance,” he said.

He also raised concerns about regulators’ capacity to monitor construction materials, noting that professionals have repeatedly flagged the issue with little response.

“We have always complained about the capacity, whether the Ghana Standards Authority is able to check all these materials on the market, particularly when it comes to reinforcement and its actual diameter,” he said.

“Many engineers and architects have raised concerns, but we are not getting any responses.”

Mr Asare warned that some materials in circulation may not meet safety standards, stressing the need for proper testing.

“We have also raised the issue that some of the reinforcement in our market is too brittle and may not meet standards. Most of us design using high-tensile steel, so how do we even check? You need to take your materials to the labs and verify whether the quality is good.”

Another critical concern, he said, is the shortage of qualified professionals within local assemblies responsible for enforcing building standards.

“We have 261 assemblies. There are only about 10 architects. So who is doing the technical work?”

Read also: 3 dead, 20 hospitalised in Accra New Town building collapse – Interior Minister