The Building Code

Dec 02, 2013 Editorial

The recent roof collapse of a large store in Riga, capital of Latvia in the Baltic has not made the kind of impact that one might reasonably expect here in Guyana – a country which over the last several years seems to be in a mad rush to emulate the high rise buildings found in the developed world.
Interestingly, the public statement by President Andris Bçrziòð in a departure from what we in this region have grown accustomed to, virtually described the construction firm which built the Maxima XX store as murderers and has called for an immediate investigation into the disaster. The last news reports gave the number of innocent persons who died as 54 with dozens injured and 13 missing.
One wonders about the buildings which are being erected in Georgetown and its environs, and whether they conform to established building codes. As a matter of fact, the question really should centre on whether said building codes have been revised to accommodate the upsurge in these mammoth edifices.
To elaborate, the citizens of this country need to be advised that their public safety is not being compromised on the altar of political expediency and monetary considerations. Maxima XX was constructed in a residential area – something we are seeing on an almost daily basis. Furthermore, we have to question the preparedness of our essential services to respond to an emergency should a similar catastrophe (heavens forbid) befall us.
Both central government and regional authorities must ensure that officials carry out their duties conscientiously with the safety of citizens foremost in their consciousness. We are willing to accept as a given, that plans are reviewed stringently by qualified engineers on behalf of the administration. It is therefore no accident when Latvian Ombudsman Juris Janson said that the state should bear responsibility for such tragedies. Here in Guyana, we would not have been surprised at the shirking and shifting blame game by all relevant parties as to who was responsible for a collapsed building. After all, we have seen the avoidance of responsibility over a fallen lamp pole.
There seems to be no consideration of the proximity of these sometimes very narrow, tall buildings to neighbouring residences and whether their foundations were sufficiently tested to not pose a physical threat (not to mention environmental threat) to residents or passersby. Imagine if you will, a structural defect being the cause of a building collapse, which results in injuries or possibly death for innocent neighbours or people going about their lawful business.
People need to be reassured that everything possible is being done to prevent that horrible and avoidable fate, including strict monitoring of compliance with all elements in the original design of approved plans. A few of the more insightful comments on the Latvian tragedy are worth sharing including: (i) A greedy owner building an apartment building in a city with too many already; (ii) A greedy contractor who paid off a greedy building inspector; (iii) Greed and corruption need to be punished. If there are no consequences, it will continue, and this is one of the results.
We in Guyana need to be aware of the potential for disaster that could befall us without warning as obtains in some countries which fail to observe safety regulations. It is quite one thing to demand a reduction in road accidents but are we failing in other respects just as deadly? Just last Tuesday November 19, in Tongaat, 30 km north of Durban in South Africa, a portion of a shopping mall collapsed, killing at least one and injuring dozens. The familiar note in this instance is the fact that local authorities made an unsuccessful attempt to halt construction, since according to Deputy Mayor Nomvuzo Shabalala, the builders were not in compliance with the terms of building. Shades of Guyana don’t you think? Just imagine questionable and substandard construction of publicly owned facilities in the continued absence of the Public Procurement Commission.

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