Mahama orders sanctions for officials who fail to enforce building safety rules
The President says responsibility must be established when buildings collapse, warning that construction continues despite stop-work notices. He wants officials sanctioned where failures to enforce safety requirements are identified.
President John Dramani Mahama has directed that officials who fail to enforce building safety requirements be identified and sanctioned when their failures are linked to structural collapses.
Speaking at the National Conference on Housing Finance on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, he called for stronger enforcement by district assemblies, particularly when developers ignore stop-work orders.
The directive focuses on accountability among officials responsible for building permits and safety compliance. Mahama said responsibility must be established when a building collapses, rather than leaving failures in regulatory oversight unaddressed.
“More often than not, you see red paint stop work, and yet the work continues. And you wonder what’s happening,” he said.
“And one day they are working, and the whole house comes tumbling down. You ask, who gave the permit for that building?”
He instructed the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs to take the issue seriously and ensure that officials fulfil their enforcement responsibilities.
“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.
His remarks placed particular emphasis on district assemblies, where building permits and compliance with safety requirements are monitored.
The President’s concern was that issuing a stop-work notice alone is insufficient if construction continues. He called for such directives to be enforced and for failures by responsible officials to carry consequences.
Alongside enforcement, Mahama called for broader improvements to housing conditions. He stressed on overcrowding in slums, insecure land tenure, poor sanitation and inadequate access to utilities as issues requiring attention.
“We must also ensure that the homes we build are safe, accessible and connected to jobs and essential services,” he said.
His comments linked building safety to the wider conditions in which people live, including access to services and employment.