The Wages Of Irresponsibility  

Ghanaians last Saturday relived the trauma of the Melcom building disaster which claimed many lives when the departmental store came crumbling down a little over two years ago.

Many assurances were made about how strict enforcement of best safety practices would be applied to obviate future recurrence. The assurances turned out to be not worthier than the scripts containing the disclosures.

A replay of a collapsed building, as it happened in Cantonments in Accra last Saturday, could have been worse than we saw, had there been many workers on the building at the time of the tragedy or even after the curtains had been drawn over the project and occupants taken possession.

It would appear that little or nothing was learnt from the collapsed structures which have painfully littered Accra and Kumasi over the past few years after the Melcom tragedy.

We have taken things for granted for far too long, largely and erroneously thinking that disasters are restricted to other parts of the world and not Ghana.

If we think that we are the most favoured of God's creations, we must reconsider our thoughts and do the right things. Public servants especially must be held responsible for their dereliction of responsibilities which occasion such disasters and even fatalities.

Those who connive with such bad public servants so standards can be overlooked must also be sanctioned appropriately; in fact, named and shamed to serve as important deterrence.

We are reliably informed about how the very expensive plot of land in Accra's plush segment was acquired under eyebrow-raising circumstances. It is an acquisition which, like others in such expensive parts of the city, could infuriate the indigenous people of La beyond the current level as they fret over their usurped lands.

For now though, we would limit ourselves to the breach of standards which led to the avoidable fatalities. A life lost is worrying enough to warrant a national conversation, especially if it occurred because of the negligence of someone in public or private life. That is what prompted this commentary.

If we ignore the lessons inherent in such avoidable accidents, it would not be long before we are visited by more serious catastrophes.

Governments over the years have taken more delight in visiting and condoling with bereaved families when avoidable accidents strike than in ensuring that the right things are done to obviate recurrences.

In the disaster scene under review, we have learnt regrettably how the late owner ignored the fear expressed by some workers about a telltale shift in one of the pillars.

Added to the foregone was also the none-adherence to the time limit for cast mortar to stay before the addition of more floors in storey building construction. Need we say more about how palpable breaches have led to avoidable fatalities by public officials whose duties of ensuring, among others, that safety precautions are applied have been compromised and owners who are too much in a hurry that they are ready to grease palms of the relevant inspectors?