Ali emphasises importance of standards in building codes
MINISTER of Housing and Water, Mr. Irfaan Ali is urging all local stakeholders in the building and construction industry to ensure that they are in possession of a copy of the recently introduced National Building Codes. He underscored the importance of the documentation, on Monday, during their introduction at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC), Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara.
Ali emphasised their relevance as an essential ingredient for good urban development.
He noted, too, that issues of global warming, which lead to greater risks of flooding, expanding the economy and leading to zoning, urban development and changes in the landscape, all create severe pressure on Government to act to ensure there are minimum basic standards in place, through which the building and construction sector will be guided.
The guidelines were formulated using material from the Caribbean Unified Building Code (CUBIC) which was developed by the Council of Caribbean Engineering Organisation (CCEO), drafted in recognition that the then available regulations were inadequate and outdated.
It was on that basis the major stakeholders in the local industry concertedly agreed to develop national codes in this country, the minister stated.
He called for the implementation of mechanisms to help advance the processing of plans and improve efficiency through which the development framework can be approved and he reminded that the codes are only the first step in the process leading to enforcement.
Ali said urban development planning recognises that, for safeguarding the physical, mental and social health of people, certain standards for the construction and use of buildings must be laid down and enforced.
Such benchmarks are, usually, embodied in what is known as a building code and take into account local climatic conditions, construction materials, public health and safety considerations, among other things.
Minister Ali pointed out that the building codes, which Guyana is now seeking to enforce, should be seen as the embodiment of appropriate to guide the construction industry and ensure that quality control and public safety considerations are adequately addressed in the urban development process.
Therefore, a comprehensive building code, which has good public acceptability and is effectively enforced, can be seen as pivotal to securing the objectives of good urban development, he said.
The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS), in 1993, began to facilitate the development of building codes for Guyana and did so through the National Building Code Committee and its various sub-committees.
Those committees comprised representatives of various public, private, research, and academic, non-governmental and other interested organisations.
The objective is to make sure public safety, health and welfare are not affected by building construction and secure safety to life and property from all hazards incidental to the occupancy of buildings, structures and premises.