Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has launched the Ghana Building Code (GhBC) in Accra to regulate building and construction so as to enforce and ensure sanity in the industry.

According to Dr. Bawumia, the Ghana Building Code has come at a time the Nana Akufo-Addo led government is focused on ensuring value for money in the housing sector.

“The new Ghana Building Code will bring an end to the situation where the cost of public building projects are inflated by contractors. Once the specifications of buildings are in accordance with the standards specified in the Ghana Building Code and the construction materials utilized are specified, it should be possible to have fairly accurate costs for all types of construction in the country, and this will help us achieve value for money,” he said.

The Vice President is optimistic the GhBC will put an end to the regular collapse of buildings and deplorable roads in the country.

He said, “Ghana’s building code will make Ghana safer because safety is very important. With the launching of the code and the passage of the necessary legislation, we can provide relief to the people of Ghana from the collapse of buildings as well as ensuring the safety of private, public and industrial buildings.”

Speaking at the launch, the Minister for Works and Housing, Atta Akyea, said, “Ghana will see a major paradigm shift in the building industry because of the fact that we want to introduce sanity into the system.”

The Ghana Building Code

The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), developed the Building Code together with stakeholders within the housing industry.

The Building Code is a set of rules that specify the standards from constructed objects such as building and non-building structures and which regulates the design and construction of these structures. It focuses on public health, safety, welfare, fire protection, structural efficiency and environmental integrity of the users.