A structural engineer at Pe-GHIE, Ing. Emmanuel Aido, has called on regulatory authorities, particularly the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies, to strengthen post-permit monitoring of construction projects following the collapse of a three-storey building at Avenor in Accra.

The incident, which has claimed two lives and left three others injured, has reignited concerns over building safety compliance and enforcement within the capital’s construction sector.

Speaking on Joy FM Super Morning Show on Monday, Ing. Aido stressed that the issuance of building permits should not mark the end of regulatory oversight.

He argued that assemblies must go beyond documentation and actively deploy engineers to construction sites to ensure that approved standards and structural requirements are strictly followed during execution.

"It is not always about the permit. The permit is very good, but my issue with the assemblies sometimes is that when the people come for the permit, and they start the construction, I think they should have a monitoring team that goes to the site to see what exactly they are doing. Whether they are going according to the drawings"

"What happens sometimes is that they get the permit, and during the construction, they change everything. The steel they decide to use is changed, and the concrete strength they decide to use is changed," he noted.

According to him, continuous supervision is critical to preventing avoidable structural failures and safeguarding lives, particularly in rapidly developing urban areas where construction activity is high.

"So, apart from getting the permit, which is very important, I think the assemblies in Ghana should also have a monetary team that will be going round to the construction sites to see whether they are going according to what they have submitted for the permit," he advised.

The comments come amid ongoing investigations by authorities into the circumstances surrounding the collapse, which has triggered renewed public debate on enforcement gaps in Ghana’s building regulation framework.

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Avenor building collapse: Engineer urges assemblies to inspect construction sites properly

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