Some residents of Adenta Lakeside estate, near the old Police station have accused the Adenta Municipal Assembly of putting their lives in danger after it gave a go-ahead for the continuous construction of a weak storey building which collapsed recently.
According to the residents, since the collapse of the building, there has have been any proper assessment by the assembly only for the Municipal Engineer to give the contractor the greenlight for it to be rebuilt.
The single-storey apartment collapsed last year in the residential community and initial investigations by residents revealed that the structure had no construction or building permit. Besides, it was being constructed on a disputed land which is under serious litigation. It was also discovered that the owner of the building was doing the construction in the night and using unapproved building materials which made the structure weak, leading to its collapse.
Sources indicated that all the relevant information was sent to the Municipal Engineer, called Maxwell and he promised to halt the project and then prosecute the owner of the structure for not following laid down procedures, rules and regulations.
Six months later, it was realised that workers had been mobilised and sent to site to continue with the construction of the weak building. Interestingly, nobody was charged, prosecuted or punished. Information indicates that authorities have finally granted permit to the contractor to continue with the project when no assessment has been done.
When contacted, Maxwell, the Engineer at the Municipal Assembly declined to comment on the issue and directed the Journalist to the Public Relations Department for the information needed.
“The rules here do not allow me to comment on these issues, so call the PRO for the information you want,” he said. At the Public Relations Unit, a lady called Barbara Ohenewa, after getting all the information related to the illegal construction acts, with pictures, promised to get back to the journalist. Interestingly it has been about two months now and we are yet to hear form her. Several calls have been made to her but there hasn’t been any reaction.
Concerns of residents are that since the foundation of the building is weak, it could collapse when authorities allow its continuous development to completion. They have therefore called on the Adenta Municipal Chief Executive to intervene and halt the project in a bid to ensure that the right thing is done and to also save the lives of people living around.
