Eco-Conscious Citizens petition Ghanaian Parliament regarding noise pollution

We underestimate to our peril the impact of noise pollution on our health and well-being. Noise pollution is blighting the lives of the citizenry, and Eco-Conscious Citizens Environmental Group is petitioning Parliament- the Speaker, the Majority and Minority Leaders to update laws on noise pollution and help to restore sanity. Petition https://www.change.org/UpdateNoiseLaws

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines noise above 65 decibels (dB) as noise pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Ghana has set permitted noise levels in residential areas at a maximum of 55 decibels during the day and 48 at night.

There are laws in place, and yet noise pollution, which is a health concern, continues unabated. A 2011 WHO report indicates that exposure to prolonged or excessive noise causes a range of health problems, from stress, poor concentration, communication difficulties, fatigue from lack of sleep, to cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, tinnitus and hearing loss.

Currently, residents of parts of Accra are enjoying peace and tranquillity, thanks to the ban on drumming and noise-making. The month-long ban on noise-making, which began in Ga Mashie on May 10th, and ends on June 10th, 2021, precedes the celebration of the Homowo Festival by the Chiefs and people of Ga Mashie, and requires silence and tranquillity.

The Accra Metropolitan Authority (A.M.A) has issued notice that over the duration of the ban noise levels should be at the barest minimum.

The ban is a welcome break from the cacophony of incessant noise pollution that engulfs our communities, our homes and our places of work, from morning till night, seven days a week, and should be upheld all year round. Our health and well-being is being damaged daily by the unbridled noise-making from road-side preachers plying the streets behind our homes and across our places of work; calls to worship from mosques; loudspeakers blaring from churches; drinking bars pounding unbelievable decibels of noise from their sound systems; fuel stations; social events – funerals, engagement ceremonies, and parties where the music plays so loudly you can hear it pounding inside your veins ; sellers with loudspeakers mounted on their vehicles or trolleys; refuse or borla collectors playing a loud, irritating tune.

A nation cannot develop amidst noise pollution, indiscipline and lack of consideration for others. Every citizen is entitled to peace and quiet all year round, in order to remain healthy, productive, reflect, recharge their batteries and recover from the stress of everyday life. The next generation will not benefit from this unbridled display of indiscipline, inconsideration, and contempt for our laws.

The bye-laws of most municipalities state that noise should not go beyond the confines of one's premises. In addition, section 296 (h) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) makes it an offence to beat or plays a drum, gong, tomtom or any other similar music instrument between eight o'clock in the night and six in the morning without a licence in writing from the minister or local authority. Section 287 (a) further states that “A person who without lawful authority or excuse, the proof of which lies on that person, carries on a noxious, offensive or a noisy business ... so as to impair or endanger the health of the public inhabiting or using the neighbourhood of that place....commits a criminal offence”.

Noise pollution causes Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL), and can also cause high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep disturbances, and stress. Continuous exposure to noise pollution causes an increase in cholesterol levels and can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Studies have associated exposure to excessive noise with hypertension, neurosis and nervous breakdowns.

To restore sanity, productivity, and for the citizenry to enjoy peace and tranquillity all year long, laws on noise abatement must be enforced all year round. It is also important that we protect our parks and green spaces from being built on and that we don't pay lip service to Climate Change and the sustainable development goals. Parks and Gardens Department should be restored to its former position as a Ministry to enable it to perform the functions for which it was set up.

We are petitioning Parliament to:

1) Ban the use of loudspeakers in and around residential and mixed residential areas unless they are used in soundproofed buildings approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.

2) Make it mandatory for Assemblies to have Noise Teams who can be called outside normal working hours to deal with noise pollution.

3) Make it mandatory for the Police to have training on Noise Pollution and relevant laws and bye-laws, including the Criminal Offences Act 1960, specifically Sections 72, 287 & 296 and Article 12 of the 1992 Constitution, so they understand that Noise Pollution is criminal offence which must be dealt with when Citizens make a complaint, and not dismissed as a matter for the Local Authority or the Environmental Protection Agency.

4) Introduce on the spot fines to deal with Noise Pollution.

5) Decline to re-zone Parks and Gardens Department HQ in Cantonments, Accra from Green Civic to exclusively Civic, as parks and green spaces are essential to our health and well-being.

We hope concerned citizens whose lives and neighbourhoods are blighted by the menace of noise pollution will sign the Petition https://www.change.org/UpdateNoiseLaws , which is the first stage in the process of lobbying Parliament to update its laws pertaining to noise.

Eco-Conscious Citizens

@EcoConsciousGH

https://linktr.ee/EcoConsciousCitizens