GSA distributes building code in western and Western North Regions

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Accra, March 4, GNA
– The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has presented copies of the Ghana
Building Code to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) in the
Western and Western North Regions.

The move is to ensure
strict compliance to the regulations and standards required in putting up any
public infrastructure.


The code was
launched in October 2018 as part of the GSA’s efforts to make available
requirements for the building and construction industry.

The first ever Ghana
Building Code was developed with the support of World Bank, Ministry of Works
and Housing, Building and Road Research Institute and local experts, including;
engineers, architects, fire safety officers, lawyers, and planners, among
others.

The building code
contains a set of rules specifying the standards for constructed objects such
as buildings and non-building structures.

It regulates the
design and construction of structures and therefore remains critical in every
infrastructural development.


Presenting the
copies of the code to the Western Regional Minister, Professor Alex Dodoo, the
Director General of the GSA, said the code would provide the tool for
enforcement of standards in the region.

“My plea to all of
us is that we know you were at fault, now we are giving you a reason for some
of the enforcement. We know it is a lot of work and we do not want
to overburden you, but we hope this will also generate a lot of revenue
for you,” he said.

“So this is just the
beginning of a long-time friendship and where we can help you with the testing,
we will do that, and where we have to help the technical university over here
to save you better we will do that,” he added.

On his part, Mr
Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, Western Regional Minister, said the building code
simplified the processes of construction and provided certainty and urged the
building and construction industry to see the Metropolitan, Municipal and
District Assemblies as those serving them and not policemen trying to
intimidate them.

“I see the
distribution of the building code in the western region as an opportunity to
use the building code for the betterment of the people in the region. Please
embrace this code, and implement them for the growth of the region.”

He said the Western
region would want to increase its contribution to the country’s economy with
adherence to standards in the region.

The GSA distributed
14 of the code in the Western Region and nine in the Western-North Region.

GNA