Dr. Prince Hamid Armah checking the documents of a woman who had visited the RCD office to lodge a complaint
THE DEPUTY Minister for Works and Housing, Dr. Prince Hamid Armah, yesterday paid a working visit to some agencies under the Ministry for Works and Housing (MoWH) including the Rent Control Department (RCD); the Engineering Council, Ghana; the Ghana Institute of Architects (GIA); and the Real Estate Agency Council (REAC).
Other agencies to have also welcomed the Deputy Minister include the Ghana Hydrological Authority (GHA); the Public Works Department (PWD); and the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project, all in Accra.
The visit was to enable the minister familiarize himself with operations of the various agencies, ascertain their challenges and also dialogue on ongoing agency-related projects and initiatives.
At the Rent Control Department, Twum Ampofo, Director, Rent Control Office, when queried about the Department’s digitalisation initiative informed the Deputy Minister that his outfit would officially launch its digital system after the much anticipated Built Environment National Conference on Housing and Hydrology (BENCHH) which is slated for July this year.
The Deputy Minister on his part charged them to “as a matter of urgency”, do all that is necessary to ensure that the platform is launched successfully, saying the platform would ease the frustrations of landlords and tenants while also ensuring accountability and transparency.
In a shock move, the Deputy Minister held interactions with some persons in a long queue at the RCD and after hearing their complaints, charged officers to allot specific time allocations to patrons of the outfit to avoid the situation where people would come and spend long productive hours there just to have their issues resolved.
At the Engineering Council, Ghana, the Deputy Minister lamented the growing phenomenon of “charlatans” who, without the necessary academic and professional qualifications, pose as engineers and undertake projects for unsuspecting individuals of the public.
He, therefore, charged the Council to address the menace once and for all to ensure that structures put up have high integrity while safeguarding the lives of Ghanaians.
In response, Isaac Baadu, Registrar at the Engineering Council, assured the Deputy Minister that his outfit would work assiduously to combat the menace of unqualified persons posing as engineers.
The team then moved to the Ghana Institute of Architects (GIA) where Dr. Armah expressed similar sentiments as he did at the Engineering Council, calling on the Authority to implement strategies to combat the menace of unqualified ‘architects’ in the system.
To demonstrate his seriousness, he charged them to present a roadmap on how to clamp down on such individuals among other initiatives latest by October 2024.
“We want to strengthen your capacity to deliver. We want to see you work well.There are a lot of construction works ongoing and it is imperative that we ensure high standards”, he told them.
Registrar at the GIA, Dr. Arc. Emmanuel Eyiah-Botwe, assured that his outfit would do its best to ensure that compliance is implemented across all levels of the industry and such fake individuals who pose as architects are clamped down upon.
The team also made a stop at the Ghana Hydrological Authority office where the Deputy Minister gave management up to a week to present a comprehensive mapping of areas that need immediate government intervention against flooding across the country.
“We want to be very proactive. We need to undertake those measures immediately so we can act proactively to forestall destruction of lives and properties as a result of floods”, he said, adding that “the 2024 National Flood Control Programme has to start immediately.
The Deputy Minister rounded up his visit at PWD which shares a building with GARID Project office where he received briefings on scope of work undertaken by the two bodies.
He stressed on the need for expedited actions to be taken, especially as we are in the rainy season.
He assured all the agencies of the government’s unflinching support in the discharge of their responsibilities to ensure safe living conditions for all Ghanaians.
BY Nii Adjei Mensahfio