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The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has presented copies of the Ghana Building Code to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) in the Western and Western North Regions.

The move is to ensure strict compliance to the regulations and standards required in putting up any public infrastructure.

The code was launched in October 2018 as part of the GSA's efforts to make available requirements for the building and construction industry.

The first ever Ghana Building Code was developed with the support of World Bank, Ministry of Works and Housing, Building and Road Research Institute and local experts, including; engineers, architects, fire safety officers, lawyers, and planners, among others.

The building code contains a set of rules specifying the standards for constructed objects such as buildings and non-building structures.

It regulates the design and construction of structures and therefore remains critical in every infrastructural development.

Presenting the copies of the code to the Western Regional Minister, Professor Alex Dodoo, the Director General of the GSA, said the code would provide the tool for enforcement of standards in the region.

“My plea to all of us is that we know you were at fault, now we are giving you a reason for some of the enforcement. We know it is a lot of work and we do not want to overburden you, but we hope this will also generate a lot of revenue for you,” he said.

“So this is just the beginning of a long-time friendship and where we can help you with the testing, we will do that, and where we have to help the technical university over here to save you better we will do that,” he added.

On his part, Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, Western Regional Minister, said the building code simplified the processes of construction and provided certainty and urged the building and construction industry to see the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies as those serving them and not policemen trying to intimidate them.

“I see the distribution of the building code in the western region as an opportunity to use the building code for the betterment of the people in the region. Please embrace this code, and implement them for the growth of the region.”

He said the Western region would want to increase its contribution to the country’s economy with adherence to standards in the region.

The GSA distributed 14 of the code in the Western Region and nine in the Western-North Region.