The Zambia Institute of Architects (ZIA) says it has handed over the matter surrounding the structural integrity of Society Business Park to the law enforcement agencies.

ZIA president Musunka Silungwe said the decision to surrender the matter to the law enforcement agencies is to ensure that thorough investigations are conducted on why earlier concerns raised on the state of structural integrity of the building were ignored.

Mr Silungwe disclosed that from the preliminary investigations conducted by ZIA it was established that the Architect engaged in the Society Business Park project did issue warnings on the structural integrity of the building. 

ZANIS reports that the ZIA president charged that the architect who was originally assigned to the Society Business Park project, gave timely warning prior to the news breaking out into the mainstream media on the state of the structural integrity of the building. 

He further revealed that the warnings and concerns raised were ignored and pushed aside as the contractor continued with the project. 

Mr Silungwe said if the warnings were adhered to earlier, measures would have been put in place to remedy the structural concerns of the building at an earlier stage. 

He explained that failure to adhere to the warnings issued earlier has resulted in millions of dollars going to waste. 

The ZIA president said the law enforcement agencies must ensure that the people behind ignoring the warnings and concerns raised are brought to book. 

He said this will act as a deterrent to would-be offenders who may want to ignore professional’s advice on structural integrity of buildings. 

Mr Silungwe lamented that the institute has been facing challenges to get information from the professionals behind the Society Business Park project.  

The ZIA president has since warned its members to refrain from coming into conflict with the law by ensuring they adhere to the law when coming up with designs.