Fifty people were convicted by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly District Court in 2013 for causing noise pollution in the capital. They were fined between GH�60 and GH�1,800 depending on the nature of their offence.
According to the prosecutor, Ms Linda Kumbuno, some cases are still pending before the Laterbiokoshie Sanitation and Motor District Court.
The policy
She indicated that the AMA introduced a policy to clamp down on excessive noise making in the capital due to the numerous health dangers associated with noise, about three years ago.
Ms Kumbuno said under the policy, residential areas were permitted to produce sounds within 55 decibels (db) in the day and 48 decibels (db) in the night.
�Educational and health facilities are expected to produce sounds within 55 db in the day and 50 db in the night while commercial areas are within 60-75 db and 55-60 db�, she stated.
She explained that entertainment centres, churches and mosques, among others, were to generate noise within the ranges of 65 db and 60 db day and night respectively while industrial areas were also to generate noise level within 70db in the day and 60-70 db in the night.
Metro Public Health Directorate
For his part, the Metro Public Health Director of the assembly, Dr Simpson Anim Boateng, revealed that as a result of the delay in court procedures, the assembly had adopted Section 54 of the Local Government Act 462, which allows the assembly to serve notice to offenders and subsequently seize the offender�s equipment, if they fail to adhere to the terms of the notice.
He asserted that the assembly would clamp down on all recalcitrant individuals who failed to heed to the directive to keep noise levels within the stipulated range in the capital.
Dr Boateng explained that most of the complaints received last year were about excessive noise from churches, beer bars and cassette vendors.
The Senior Environmental Health Technologist, Mr Wisdom Aditsey, said Ghanaians had not yet accepted the health implication of noise and that had been responsible for their attitude towards the problem.
�The assembly is doing its best to reduce noise pollution in the country, but if Ghanaians do not come to terms with the dangers of noise pollution on their health, all our efforts will yield no result�, he added.
According to Mr Aditsey, the assembly will continue to educate the public on the dangers of noise pollution adding �education is the best option�
Speaking on the challenges of the exercise so far, he explained that the exercise had become a risk task due to the aggressive nature of offenders.
�There are times that we have to struggle with them before we can seize the equipment; sometimes too, our workers are threatened while others chase us after we have seized their equipment�, he said
He advised Ghanaians not to hesitate to report all activities that posed a threat to their health to the assembly for the necessary action to be taken.
When the Daily Graphic visited the Metro Public Health Directorate, some of the sound systems and a generator which had been seized by the task force were at the office.
Officials, explained that they had been seized to deter others from making excessive noise, however, they had not decided on what to do with those equipment but maintained that it would not be given back to owners.
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