Metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies have been urged to strictly enforce building codes and regulations to forestall disasters, which could be fatal. This was contained in a statement by the Ghana Environmental Awareness Association (GEAA), a Non-governmental Organization (NGO) signed by its President, Brigadier General Nii Albert Tehn-Addy (Rtd) in Accra. The NGO said a developer known as Alhaji Lotto purchased a small portion of land near the Zongo Lane Mosque in Accra for a building in 1970. It stated that instead of a storey building, the developer working under the cover of darkness in the night constructed two more floors on top of the structure. According to the statement just as the developer was about to plaster and roof the building, he was stopped by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) from continuing work and asked to remove the two floors on top of the building. It said Alhaji Lotto died last year and early in January this year, work was started again with the erection of a scaffold, which attracted the attention of GEAA. The statement said the NGO advised the developer to stop work and comply with the AMA order to remove the last two floors because of the dangerous state of the structure because some of the concrete work and pillars were falling off dangerously. The NGO stated that instead of heeding the advice to avert a possible disaster and loss of lives, the developer continued work on the building. The GEAA called on Building Inspectors of the AMA to ensure that the “stop work” order was complied with and the developer made to remove the two floors on top of the building immediately to avert a possible disaster. The Association noted that the structure was located in the same area where a building housing the Gyamfi Garments Company collapsed claiming some lives a few years ago. According to the NGO, even though the AMA ordered the developer to stop work, remove the structure and ensure that the proper foundation was laid, the building was still standing with the ground floor being used for a warehouse. GEAA called on the AMA to ensure that its stop work and remove order was complied with to avert a possible disaster to save lives and property. Source: GNA