Former Interior Minister and former Member of Parliament for Ayawaso Central, Henry Quartey, has spoken on the recent building collapse at Accra Newtown, saying the disaster could have been prevented.
In an interview on Adom FM’s morning show Dwaso Nsem, he explained that authorities had previously planned to demolish the structure due to safety concerns.
“We had noticed structural integrity issues with that building years ago. Back in 2012, the NDC was in power and I was an MP. We noticed that a contract had been awarded, but the building had serious safety risks. We flagged it, but the sub-metro didn’t act because my government was not in power at the time” he said.
He added, “When we won power in 2016, we tried to resolve the matter. Alhaji Mohammed, who became the MCE of Ayawaso Central in 2017, made attempts to assess the building and decide whether to repair or demolish it. We even planned to move the school children to a safe location. But when the assembly tried to get near the building, the contractor refused to allow them to intervene, claiming he had not been paid.”
Mr. Quartey stated that the building was extremely dangerous, calling it a “death trap.”
“Even if there were a fire outbreak, the fire service would not have had access to rescue the children. I tried to raise the alarm, but we were not allowed to take action.”
Asked who owns the structure, he said it is a government school.
“This is not about politics,” he stressed. “It’s about saving lives. If we had listened earlier, this tragedy could have been avoided.”
The collapse occurred on Sunday, March 29, prompting an immediate response from emergency agencies including NADMO, the Ghana National Fire Service, and the Police.
Authorities are still assessing the full extent of the damage and confirming whether there were any casualties.
Residents have expressed concern over the condition of older school buildings across Accra, some noting that visible cracks had been spotted in the Accra New Town building long before the collapse.
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