An Open Letter To The Government Of Ghana, Professional Regulatory Bodies, Civil Society And The People Of Ghana

To: His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana; the Vice President; the Speaker of Parliament; the Chief Justice; all relevant Ministers of State; MMDCEs of Accra and Tema; Ghana Geological Survey Authority; Ghana Standards Authority; Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority; NADMO; Ghana National Fire Service; EPA; Engineering Council, Ghana; Ghana Institution of Engineering; Institution of Engineering and Technology Ghana; Ghana Consulting Engineers Association; Ghana Institution of Surveyors; Ghana Institute of Architects; Ghana Institute of Planners; Ghana Institute of Construction; Ghana Medical Association; Ghana Bar Association; Ghana Journalists Association; faith-based bodies; civil society and public accountability organisations including CDD-Ghana, IMANI Africa, OccupyGhana, Ghana Integrity Initiative / Transparency International Ghana, Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, ACEP, SEND Ghana, Media Foundation for West Africa, CSO Platform on SDGs Ghana, Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, consumer protection groups and residents’ associations.

Dear Sir/Madam,
I write as a concerned built-environment professional and a citizen of Ghana. Accra and Tema are developing rapidly, with multi-storey apartments, hotels, offices, mixed-use towers and commercial developments rising across Airport, Cantonments, Ridge, East Legon, Labone, Osu, Roman Ridge, Spintex, Tema, East Legon Hills and surrounding corridors. This growth is welcome; however, Ghana must ask a serious national question: are these buildings merely tall, or are they structurally durable and resilient under realistic ground and seismic conditions?

Accra and Tema are not geologically neutral. Ghana’s history includes damaging earthquakes, including the well-known 1939 Accra earthquake, and southern Ghana is associated with fault systems such as the Coastal Boundary Fault and the Akwapim Fault Zone. The absence of frequent earthquakes must not be mistaken for the absence of earthquake risk. High-rise development increases the consequence of failure, especially where ground investigation, structural detailing, materials testing, construction supervision, fire safety and occupancy certification are weak.

The recent Venezuela earthquake disaster must be treated as a warning lesson. According to World Vision UK, two powerful earthquakes struck north-central Venezuela near Caracas on 24 June 2026, reported at magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, causing collapsed buildings, people trapped under rubble, aftershocks and families forced to sleep outside. The lesson for Ghana is clear: earthquakes expose, within seconds, years of poor planning, weak enforcement, inadequate inspection, compromised materials and professional negligence.

A building does not fail on the day of an earthquake alone. It fails when poor ground investigation is accepted; when reinforcement detailing is ignored; when concrete quality is not verified; when design changes are made without competent review; when permits become paperwork rather than public-safety controls; and when professional signatures are treated as decoration instead of accountability.

I therefore respectfully call for a national structural and seismic safety audit of recent high-rise buildings in Accra, Tema and surrounding fast-growing areas. This should be an evidence-led, engineering-led and public-safety-led exercise, not a political one. It should begin with buildings above a defined height threshold and include residential towers, hotels, commercial buildings, hospitals, schools, shopping centres, places of worship, public assembly buildings and government facilities.

The audit should prioritise buildings on soft soils, reclaimed land, coastal zones, flood-prone areas, high-groundwater areas and locations near known or suspected geological weaknesses. Each building owner, developer or managing agent should be required to submit, for independent review, structural design calculations, geotechnical investigation reports, seismic design assumptions, concrete test records, reinforcement inspection records, material certificates, as-built drawings, fire and evacuation strategies, and evidence of compliance with the Ghana Building Code. Where such records do not exist, that absence should itself be treated as a risk indicator.

The Engineering Council, Ghana, working with the Ghana Institution of Engineering and other built-environment bodies, should lead a register of qualified structural, geotechnical, civil, electrical, mechanical and fire engineers authorised to participate in these audits. No person or firm should certify the safety of high-rise buildings unless properly registered, competent and accountable to professional disciplinary procedures.

The Ghana Geological Survey Authority should be resourced to work with universities, engineers and local authorities to produce updated seismic microzonation maps for Greater Accra. A national hazard map is useful, but urban safety requires neighbourhood-level understanding of soil amplification, liquefaction potential, groundwater conditions, foundation behaviour and emergency accessibility.

The Ghana Standards Authority, local assemblies and relevant ministries should also review whether the Ghana Building Code is being enforced with sufficient seriousness. A building code that is not enforced is only a book. The real test is what happens on site: who checks reinforcement before concrete is poured; who verifies concrete strength; who signs off foundations; who approves design changes; who stops unsafe works; and who confirms life-safety compliance before occupation.

This matter goes beyond engineering. The Ghana Medical Association must be part of the conversation because collapsed buildings create mass casualties, hospital pressure, ambulance-access problems and long-term public-health consequences. The Ghana Bar Association must be part of the conversation because building failure raises questions of negligence, liability, consumer protection, tenants’ rights, insurance, professional duty and justice. Civil society and the media must help turn building safety into a national accountability agenda before tragedy occurs.

Requested national action:

• Convene a national technical task force involving government, Engineering Council, Ghana, GGSA, GSA, NADMO, GNFS, professional bodies, universities, GMA, GBA, civil society and independent experts.
• Carry out a seismic and structural audit of high-rise buildings in Accra and Tema, with risk classification and remedial recommendations.
• Make comprehensive geotechnical reporting, independent structural peer review and staged inspection mandatory for high-risk developments.
• Update seismic hazard and microzonation maps for Greater Accra and integrate them into planning approvals.
• Require public disclosure of building safety status, fire certification, occupation certification and audit outcomes for high-risk buildings.
• Establish legal liability, sanctions and whistleblower protection for unsafe construction, fraudulent certification and regulatory failure.
• Strengthen emergency response, hospital preparedness, evacuation planning and public education on earthquake safety.

Accra and Tema deserve development, but development must not become vertical risk. Investors deserve confidence, but confidence must rest on verified safety. Citizens deserve modern housing, but modern housing must not become a concrete trap. The skyline of a nation should be a mark of intelligence, not merely ambition.

The Venezuela tragedy reminds us that earthquakes do not respect luxury finishes, glossy brochures, political influence or expensive marketing. They test foundations, columns, connections, ground conditions, construction quality, emergency access, legal accountability and regulatory discipline.

Ghana still has time to act. That time should not be wasted.

Ing Wiseborn Owusu Danquah CEng MICE GhIE-SPE

Geotechnical Engineer / QAQC Professional
Concerned Citizen E: wd@geomastersconsult.com

T: 0553128627

   Comments0