President John Dramani Mahama has directed the Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, to ensure that officials responsible for enforcing building safety regulations are held accountable when structural failures occur. The President said officials mandated to ensure the safety and compliance of buildings must be identified and sanctioned if they fail to properly enforce the relevant regulations.
President Mahama made the remarks on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at the National Conference on Housing Finance, where he called for stricter enforcement of building regulations at the district assembly level. He expressed concern that some buildings continue to be constructed despite stop-work orders issued by local authorities, stressing that such directives must be respected and effectively enforced.
“More often than not, you see red paint stop work, and yet the work continues. And you wonder what’s happening,” President Mahama said. “And one day they are working, and the whole house comes tumbling down. You ask, who gave the permit for that building?” He stressed that accountability must be established whenever a building collapses, particularly in cases where regulatory officials failed to carry out their responsibilities.
“These are things that the Ministry of Local Government should take very seriously. If a house collapses, we must see whose duty it was to ensure that that house was safe, and that person must be sanctioned for it,” he said. According to the President, the issue must be tackled at the district assembly level, where building permits are issued and compliance with safety standards is monitored.
His comments come amid growing concerns over structural failures in Ghana. More than 75 building collapses are estimated to have been recorded across the country over the past five years, while an estimated one to three multi-storey building failures occur annually. Beyond building safety, President Mahama also called for broader interventions to improve housing conditions. These include addressing overcrowding in slum communities, insecure land tenure, poor sanitation and limited access to essential utilities.
“We must also ensure that the homes we build are safe, accessible and connected to jobs and essential services,” he said.
