LASG Sets Up Body To Monitor Building Constr.

• Experts Reveal A Lot About Certified Accreditor Progr.

Last week, the Lagos State Government through one of its agencies, The Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), had a stakeholders meeting with the private sector in the built industry. Some of them include: the tilers, brick layers, carperters, builders, plumbers, iron benders etc.

The meeting was mainly to encourage them to work with the Lagos State Government and also sensitisise them on the new body that was created called Certified Accreditor Programme.

In a chat with Dr. Olajide Babatunde, Special Adviser on e-GIS and Urban Development, he explained to City People the need for collaboration between the government and the private sector in the built environment. According to him, he said, “The essence of the stakeholder’s meeting today is to bring everybody in the built sector together and also tell our processes particularly the ongoing amnesty programme which is being carried out by the office of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development and also unveil the Certified Accreditor Programme (CAP). We have the capability in terms of technical know-how and skills but we may not have the capacity in terms of the number. We already have districts in all the 57 districts in Lagos, the Local Government and the LCDA. However, the number of constructions that go on in Lagos State on a daily basis, may out number our staff and a team that goes to a site which is made of an architect, a mechanical engineer, a builder, an electrical engineer, a structural engineer etc. By the time you count the number of people in that team they will be about 10. They also need to have resources like having logistic such as vehicles and you need to fuel them. And they go to different sites daily. Imagine when you have a team of 10 divide it by the staff we have, we might not be able to.. That is why we say we may have the capability and technical skills but we may not have the numbers. That is why we are calling on the professionals from the built environment like architects, engineers, bulders etc to come together as a consortium. They can be like a group of 5 or 6 that will be helping us do our work. We are outsourcing some of the responsibilities of the government to the private sector. Because we have gotten to that stage now where it’s a joint responsibility. You can’t leave us alone. You have the skills and you need to help us. They will be visiting the site and report back to us. We as a government we do the monitoring and that is what we can’t leave to the public. We would be looking and moving around and ensuring the new team called CAP is working and if the CAP calls us that there’s emergency there; it looks like these people are not doing the right thing, we go out with our enforcement team. And what does the enforcement team do? They give different notices like eviction notice, stop work notice etc. We are calling on the general public to ensure they work with the professionals (CAP) that are now working with us. We urge the public to please give them the needed respect because they are now working with us (the government). These teams will report everything they need to report to the government”.

“This year I only know of one building collapse. This year has been the lowest in terms of housing collapse. We still have some months to go and if it remains this way that means we have broken the record”

Another top practitioner who also spoke at the event is Architect Gbolahan Oki who revealed why the government set up a new body to monitor housing construction in Lagos. According to Oki, “The LABSCA has made significant strides in ensuring adherence to building standards and codes, resulting in a notable decline in building collapses.

“These positive outcomes are a testament to our efforts. Nevertheless, we acknowledge that there is always room for improvement.

“During this engagement, we will introduce new measures by the state government designed to enhance the safety and resilience of our buildings for future generations.

We aim to engage not only industry professionals but also our community members who are involved in property development, specifically our mothers who specialize in trading and constantly engage the services of developers in handling their building projects.

“As previously mentioned, the government has introduced the Certified Accreditors Program (CAP) to further regulate the industry.

“The primary goal of the CAP program is to regulate the industry in parnership with the private sector by ensuring effective supervision and monitoring of all construction sites within the state.

“Achieving total industry integrity requires collaborative efforts; the government alone cannot accomplish this.

I want to underscore that professionalism is the conerstone of our success in the built environment. This encompasses not only engineers, architects, and builders but also skilled workers such as bricklayers, carpenters, and welders.

“I encourage cach of you to actively participate in today’s discussions, share your insights, and contribute ideas on how we can collectively advance professionalism in our industry.” he concluded.

The government has opened it’s portals for all interested professionals in the private sector who want to join the CAP

The Lagos State Government says the Certified Accreditor Programme (CAP) registration portal is now open for interested professionals in the private sector of the built environment to enroll and collaborate with the government.

According to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Engr. Oluwole Sotire, the portal can be accessed through the CAP website:www.capmppudlasg.net

He stated that the portal has been programmed to accept applications as Certified Accreditors from teams of professionals as against individuals, while the following WhatsApp number and email address have been provided for further inquiries:capmppud@lagosstate.gov.ng or

Isaac Abimbade

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