The recent building collapses were the subject of in-depth examinations by the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA), which found that the biggest contributing factor to the tragedies was the assembly's failure to implement LUSPA legislation.
In light of these failures on the part of the assemblies, the authority has recommended that the relevant local government assemblies be fined for violating the LUSPA Act, 2016 (Act 952) and the LUSPA Regulations (LI 2384).
In a personal interview with the Daily Graphic, Kwadwo Yeboah, the LUSPA's interim CEO, accused the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District
Assemblies (MMDAs) must strictly implement the requirements of the LUSPA Act and the rules (LI 2384) through the use of the spatial planning committees.
Speaking on the findings of recent LUSPA investigations into building collapses, notably in the capital city of Accra, Mr. Yeboah encouraged the MMDAs to adhere to the rules governing spatial planning.
The CEO of LUSPA was interviewed, among other things, to find out what caused the most recent building collapses and what was being done to stop them in the future.
He said that the assembly's spatial planning committees were in charge of ensuring that each development was authorised and carried out in line with a recognised local plan for the region.
That, he claimed, would be a crucial step in stopping the ongoing collapse of structures that were still being built.
Background
According to statistics from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), the nation had eight structural collapses during the course of the previous four months in three separate areas, resulting in two fatalities and 62 injuries.
The Greater Accra Region reported six of the eight events between May 1 and May 9, while the Ashanti and Northern regions each reported one.
In response to these tragedies, LUSPA asked the authority's Greater Accra Regional Director to look into the incidents.
The LUSPA CEO claimed that the investigative report that had been sent to him showed that the assemblies weren't doing a very good job of carrying out their enforcement duties.
In order to do this, Mr. Yeboah declared: "We will present the report to the Minister of Local Government, Decentralisation, and Rural Development and point out the assembly's errors so the minister can impose the proper penalties."
According to him, the LUSPA has a responsibility to urge the relevant minister to discipline any assembly that violates the law.
LUSPA rules
In order to better clarify, Mr. Yeboah stated that every assembly now has a spatial planning committee presided over by the chief executive as a result of Act 925 and Regulations LI 2384.
He said that the committees were in charge of making sure that any development under their purview was covered by a permit that had been given the go-ahead for building.
"Enforcement is very weak, so if we do proper enforcement at the assembly level, we won't be seeing illegal structures and haphazard developments," the author says.
The chief executive officer of LUSPA emphasised, "That is the primary obligation since the spatial planning committees have been mandated as the planning authority within their domains.
However, Mr. Yeboah emphasised that certain professionals occasionally violated their professional obligations by not abiding by strict professional practise.
"You must supervise if you grant a building permit to someone.
The assembly's responsibility is to keep an eye on the construction project from the outset to the end, he added.
The LUSPA head stated that when the construction was complete, the assembly was required to go and check the building so they could be sure it met the requirements before issuing the certificate of habitation.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0