The Daily Graphic is worried that over the past years, little attention has been given to formal regulation of urban development, building standards or land use management. The paper observes that during a period of rapid urbanization within the past three to four decades, disaster risk has expanded dramatically due to unregulated growth of the built environment. It is in the light of this that the Graphic welcomes President Akufo-Addo’s directive to the Engineering Council of the Ministry of Works and Housing to undertake a comprehensive integrity audit of all public buildings and structures to advise government appropriately on their structural integrity or otherwise. The audit directive the paper believes will reveal among other things, some weak public structures. With the possibility of an earth tremor, the Graphic urges the Ghana Geological Survey Authority to work with the urgency required to let government know the equipment needed for monitoring earthquakes saying Ghana must not be caught off guard when an earthquake strikes.
The Ghanaian Times calls on the National Disaster Management organization, NADMO to up its game in saving life and property. Recalling the tragic incident two weeks to this year’s Easter festivities, where tidal waves destroyed houses and property, displacing hundreds of residents in some parts of Ketu South Municipality of the Volta region, the paper believes NADMO has not done enough to support victims of disaster. The Times contends that NADMO’s approach to its own task of disaster management is ridiculous and it is about time the Organisation became proactive to ensure the safety of people, rather than waiting for them to be overwhelmed by disasters before giving them cup, buckets and other items when they clearly need more important things.
