The Minister for the Interior, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, has revealed that 16 buildings across the Greater Accra Region have been identified as structurally unsafe and are set to be demolished in the coming days as part of efforts to prevent further loss of life from building collapses.
The announcement follows the collapse of a three-storey building at Avenor in North Kaneshie on Sunday, June 7, which claimed two lives and left three others injured.
Speaking to journalists during a visit to the disaster scene, Muntaka said the government, through the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), has already identified a number of structures considered dangerous and unfit for habitation.
According to him, urgent measures are being taken to evacuate occupants and demolish the affected buildings before they pose a greater threat to lives and property.
“Currently, NADMO has identified about 16 buildings within the Greater Accra Region that have to come down. We are going to ensure that, coming into the week, they will go and get all those buildings down.
“We are currently doing the evacuations, and they must bring all those buildings down. I mean, some things are natural, and God will take care of the supernatural, but for the natural ones, we have to take care of them.”
The interior minister said the exercise forms part of a broader government strategy to reduce preventable disasters and ensure that unsafe structures do not become death traps for residents.
The Avenor collapse is the latest in a series of incidents that have renewed concerns about the dangers posed by ageing, poorly maintained, and improperly constructed buildings, highlighting the need for stricter enforcement of building safety regulations.
