Ghana is facing a severe shortage of qualified architects to oversee construction and enforce building standards across its local government units, the President of the Ghana Institute of Architects (GIA) has warned. Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday, March 30, 2026, Tony Asare said the country currently has only about 10 architects serving all 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
“We have 261 assemblies, and there are only ten architects. I am not sure they have more than twelve or twenty,” Mr Asare said, describing the situation as a systemic gap that continues to expose the nation to avoidable construction failures.
He linked the shortage to weak oversight, saying that the absence of qualified architects within the assemblies often leads to inadequate supervision of construction projects, allowing substandard work by contractors to go unchecked.
Mr Asare’s warning follows the recent collapse of an uncompleted building in Accra New Town, which claimed lives and left several people injured, highlighting ongoing concerns around structural safety and regulatory enforcement.
“It is something which we keep talking about. We have raised this issue with the various MMDAs; however, they are not compelled by law to ensure they have the full complement of architects and engineers,” he said, underlining a perceived legal and institutional vacuum that hinders effective development control.
Mr Asare argued that professional oversight remains a critical safeguard for public safety and urban development, and that the current deficit makes it difficult to enforce quality assurance in construction nationwide.
He urged authorities to address the shortage urgently through stronger regulatory frameworks and a deliberate effort to deploy more architects and allied professionals to the assemblies. Failure to act, he warned, will likely perpetuate a cycle of poor construction practices and building failures.
