Collapsed Sewua building lacked necessary permits, Bosomtwe DISEC reveals

Fresh details have emerged that the private developer behind the four-storey building collapse at Sewua lacked the necessary permits, the Bosomtwe District Security Council (DISEC) have confirmed.

The Council has since halted all construction works at the location, Asaase News has gathered.

Wednesday’s incident claimed the life of 43-year-old Kwaku Gyamfi, a mason, who was the lead constructor at the site and was working with his assistant, believed to be eighteen years old.

Prince Kwame Adutwum, the Assemblyman for the Sewua Electoral Area, told Asaase News that emergency services worked for hours to recover the body of the victim from the rubble. He was subsequently rushed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) but was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Speaking to Asaase News Bosomtwe District Chief Executive Joseph Assuming said engineers have been deployed to the site for further assessment.

“Apparently, they have no building permit, and I am told they were doing that when our workers were on strike, so yesterday the building collapsed on one of the persons and unfortunately, he passed on. [In the meantime] I have sent my engineers to the site for further briefing, and I have asked them to halt all activities,” he said.

“We have to be more aggressive and do more patrols so that people will come for building permits before they begin construction,” he added.

Mr Assuming said the police have advanced their investigations to ascertain the cause of the incident.

His remarks corroborate with the Ghana Chamber of Construction Industry which had criticised Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) for failing to enforce its by-laws.

The CEO of the Chamber Emmanuel Cherry believes that the failure of the MMDAs to effectively assess the work of land developers intending to erect buildings is the root cause of the collapsed structures.

He asserts that some land developers engage quack engineers to supervise construction works and thus cut corners in building projects. He wants authorities to take action against land developers who flout structural integrity rules.

“There are technologies in the system that are well advanced, that can only be manned by professionals. But what do we see? Developers just fall on any roadside mason, call them to the site give them whatever amount of money and then expect them to deliver quality for them. Some of the MMDAs also fail to effectively assess the work of land developers. These are some of the challenges we are having as an industry. So, until we crack the whip, it will be very difficult to arrest the menace,” Mr Cherry said in an interview.

Reporting By Jonathan Ofori, Asaase Newsroom, Kumasi

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