Ghana's housing minister tells contractors to engage qualified engineers to prevent collapses
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Works, Housing and Water Resources Minister Ahmed Ibrahim says construction firms must adhere to approved specifications and engage professionals, warning that failure creates liabilities and puts lives at risk.
Ghana's Minister of Works, Housing and Water Resources, Ahmed Ibrahim, has urged construction companies to engage qualified engineers and other professionals to supervise their projects and help prevent building collapses.
He said contractors must adhere to approved specifications and engage the right professionals to ensure the safety, quality and durability of their projects. Speaking on the sidelines of the Stakeholders' Consultative Forum on Structured Project Contracting and Subcontracting, organised by the Ghana National Chamber of Construction Industry on Thursday, September 17, 2026, he warned that failure to follow the required standards could create liabilities for contractors and put lives at risk.
"If you don't do it with those specifications, the time and duration it will not last. The deferred liability will catch up with you," he said. The minister said some construction works were being undertaken without the necessary engineering expertise, raising concerns over building safety.
Mr Ibrahim called for such professional requirements to be included in government contracts, particularly where specialised expertise is required. "It will do us a great good as a country if we insisted that before you engage or you have a construction company, one, either you have a professional engineer, structural engineer, architectural engineer, you hire them," he said. "If you are giving a contract, sometimes we specify that you need to employ them," he added.