‘Cold store’ church – A death trap (PHOTO)

• Posted on November 15, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

A newly constructed church belonging to the Zion Home Chapel International and headed by Apostle Lawrence Agyapong, popularly known as ‘Dito Dito,’ raises serious health and safety concerns about the congregation, especially in an event of an accident.

The imposing edifice, sited at Race Course in the Ga Central District of Accra, has only one door, which serves as an entrance and exit point, and not a single window.

The only entrance to the church ends up on the street, separated by a gutter.

But for the huge billboard mounted in front of the church conspicuously displaying the head pastor bearing a sword, one could easily mistake the building for a warehouse.

The building has several split air conditioners fitted on the periphery of the concrete roof. The protruding iron rods at the top of the building give an indication that the building would be developed into a storey building.

It is feared that in an event of a fire outbreak or any such incident, there is a possibility of a stampede, which could increase the number of casualties.

The siting of the building also poses danger to children, who risk being knocked down by vehicles, as the church has no compound.

Residents of the area have looked on with disbelieve at how city authorities allowed such a building to be put up without raising any concerns.

Some residents who spoke to Weekend Finder blamed the leadership of the church for not making safety issues a priority in the architectural design of the building and also city authorities for reneging on their duty to ensure safety standards in the construction of the building.

“How can one build a whole church with only one door and without a single window? Why? Is it a cold store?” a concerned resident queried.

Ironically, a wall attached to the church building which is under construction has “Stop Work” dated 16-10-2014 boldly written on it by city authorities.

National laws regarding public buildings are explicit on safety measures, which are a prerequisite for all developers to follow before permit is granted by the city authorities for work to commence.

The Ga Central District Chief Executive, Mr Aristo A. Aryee, toldWeekend Finder that, to the best of his knowledge, the assembly has not granted permit for the construction of any church in the district.

“Since I came into office, we have not given any building permit to any church,” he noted.

He also hinted that the assembly has been doing all it can to stop the development of unauthorised structures in the district.

“We have been chasing them to stop but they have not been stopping,” he lamented.

He however promised to send his men to assess the situation and invite the leadership of the church to produce their permit and to take the necessary action.

The Ga Central District, with its capital Sowutuom, was carved from Ga South Municipal and forms part of the new districts and municipalities created in the year 2012.

-The Finder