The price for institutional indiscipline, corruption

The whole nation went into frenzy when the unexpected happened. The tragedy of Wednesday, November 14, 2012 triggered a flurry of rescue activities unprecedented in the country. The first individuals who got to scene soon after the collapse of the five-storey building housing the Melcom Shopping Mall at Achimota, a suburb of Accra, the national capital, applied whatever implements they could lay their hands on, including bare hands, before organised institutions like the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), the National Ambulance Service, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Ghana Armed Forces, Zoomlion and many others joined forces in the rescue mission. While rescue efforts were underway, unexpectedly, there was a relentless verbal assault on parties considered to have played various roles to bring about the calamity. They include the owner of the building who was later identified as Nana Nkansah Boadi Ayeboafo, the management of the Melcom Group for not doing due diligence before occupying the building and of course the city authorities for not executing their mandate satisfactorily with regard to the construction of structures whether for domestic, commercial or industrial purposes in the city. Interestingly, one person who was very visible and vocal in the scheme of things was Dr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, the Metropolitan Chief Executive, the man who has full jurisdiction over Achimota where the incident happened and who, under normal circumstances should bear full responsibility for the tragedy. It was not strange that after such a monstrous calamity, which at the last count had cost 14 lives and many others injured, there should be a public inquest on the altar of public opinion, to look for scapegoats and possibly pass the buck. The most contentious issue was as to whether there was an approved building permit, and if there was one, whether the building inspectors matched the designed against the site plan and whether the contractor who executed the project, did a professional job. Members of the public were yet to know the truth. While the AMA boss, Dr Vanderpuije, who was quick to download the problem onto the shoulders of others, claimed that there was no permit, Nana Ayeboafo claims he had a permit and other documents that he could produce to prove his case. Dr Vanderpuije was the first to wash his hands off the disaster by telling Ghanaians that the construction of the building started long before he assumed office. He did not fail to point accusing fingers at others and was also instrumental in the arrest of the owner of building, Nana Ayeboafo, and two building inspectors – Karl Henry Clerke and Christian Ababio. Typical of us, there were torrents of advice from all corners as to what should have been done to prevent the Achimota catastrophe and what should be done to avoid similar tragedies in future. What we failed to acknowledge is that even going by existing building regulations, we still have enough legislation to ensure sanity and protect life and property if we apply the rules to the letter. What we lack is the will and determination to apply the rules and regulations we have set for ourselves. We have become a country notorious for making laws that we are not prepared to enforce because of institutional negligence or indiscipline and corruption. One area where we have been severely exposed as a nation is in the construction or better still, the building sector. In comparative terms, Accra our national capital is nothing to write home about because of the haphazard nature of its planning. Accra is about the only national capital where structures of all kinds could spring up anywhere, anytime without recourse to any layouts. Accra has become flood-prone because nobody cares about watercourses and you can drive on roads that end up in the garage of someone’s house. The Town and Country Planning Department and its counterpart departments in the various assemblies have shirked their responsibilities to the state to an extent that those who want to do the right thing become victims of a corrupt system. Because of unnecessary bureaucracy and red-tapeism, corrupt officials have exploited the system, making it extremely difficult for those who genuinely want to acquire building permits to do so without any hindrance. If what pertains in the construction sector could be described as lawlessness, the transportation sector is a huge jungle. This is perhaps about the only place where once you have two legs and two arms you can easily pass as a driver. We all know why our roads have become killing fields but lack the moral strength to enforce the motor traffic regulations to save the situation. Any time there is a major accident which claims innocent lives, we are bombarded with pious sermons on efforts to ensure road safety only to relax and wait for another tragedy. The Melcom tragedy and similar ones are a constant reminder that when we allow national institutions to decay in indiscipline and corruption, we only prepare the ground for such national tragedies, most of which are avoidable. fokofi@yahoo.co.uk kofiakordor.blogspot.com