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The Minister for Works and Housing, Hon. Francis Asenso-Boakye is urging the public and developers in the built industry to engage the services of only registered Architects and firms for their building projects in order to develop a resilient and aesthetically pleasant communities.
To this end, the sector Minister assured of government’s preparedness to support the efforts of the Ghana Institution of Architects to bring sanity as well as address challenges that affect the built environment profession.
The Minister made these known at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Ghana Institute of Architects yesterday in Accra.
The sector Minister observed that expensive housing units in the city is as a result of the high cost of building materials which are mostly imported into the country, noting that the phenomenon has adversely affected government’s efforts in making affordable housing accessible to Ghanaians.
Owing to the high cost of importation of building materials in the built industry, Asenso-Boakye reiterated the urgent need for Architects to find ways to develop homegrown solutions that will go a long way to address the excessive pricing of construction materials. The Minister further called for collaboration with institutions of higher learning to research into the right quality of local building materials that will help develop the building industry.
Hon. Asenso-Boakye commended Architects for their continuous role in designing communities through the provision of safe, functional and attractive habitats for the attainment of socio-economic growth of the country. To this end, the Minister urge the general public to engage only registered Architects and Firms for their building projects to develop resilient and aesthetically pleasant communities
Considering the trend of rapid urbanization that has gained prominence in discussions on human settlement development, the Minister emphasized the need for Architects to commence collaboration with key stakeholders within the built environment in researching into affordable and sustainable designs that are inclusive, meet the current urbanization challenges and ultimately address the needs of people in the society.
The Guest Speaker for the occasion, Ing. W. D. Alber Viala also charged Architects to extensively involve other built environment professionals to help alleviate building problems. He said involving the necessary professional on a building project can help minimize the environmental challenges which include the perennial flooding in the country.