The resolution Ghana needs: Quietude
POLLUTION in any form raises apprehension due to its negative effects on general welfare. Climate change offers adequate proof that pollution can be devastating. Frantic efforts by the UN to mobilise global communities into acts that can combat environmental pollution is warning enough.
Yet, over here in Ghana, we engage in acts that aggravate environmental pollution. There is an urgent need for a national resolution to refine the attitude towards noise.
Noise Pollution
Noise pollution has rendered Ghanaian society a hostile space. One cannot hear oneself think in this country due to the noise. The biggest culprits are those who ought to protect human interests.
The stalwarts of noise pollution in Ghana are churches, disc jockeys, and corporate bodies, ably complemented by other smaller fry in communities.
There is a by-law that regulates excessive noise making, but one cannot find any solace in that provision. The by-law requires churches to end religious activities by 10 p.m.
That provision has become a joke. All-night services, characterised by the blaring of music renders many citizens perpetual insomniacs. Live bands add brimstone to the fire.
The noise situation does not improve during the day due to citizens’ need to be heard or seen. School activities are constantly hampered by noisy church activities. Churches establish schools as a social responsibility.
Yet, religious activities prove that a conducive learning environment is not a priority.
In 2021, I collaborated with a Catholic school for the World Literacy Day activity. The event started at 10 a.m., but there was already a prayer meeting in the church hall. The loudspeakers were at work, and the sound blanketed the entire compound.
A female journalist who interviewed me questioned the practicality of holding loud prayer meetings amidst learning. That was my exact sentiment. It was a huge challenge getting a quiet space for her interview.
The noise was overwhelming across the compound. We both wondered why the educationists allowed that situation when we learned that the prayer meeting was a weekly activity.
That is not an isolated situation; loud prayer meetings on school compounds are a regular occurrence in Ghanaian communities. Worshippers consistently hold the defence that such prayers and singing cannot be noise since they are worshipping God.
How can an activity be pious when it hampers learning, disturbs the sleep of the elderly, and generally obstructs public peace?
Two decades ago, one Mr Gambrah sued a Baptist church in a Kumasi suburb for violating the 10 p.m. by-law. There had been several appeals to the church to respect neighbours by refraining from loud all-night prayers.
It turned a deaf ear to the plea. Then Mr Gambrah acted, and the church lost the case. The law was made to rule!
Elsewhere, churches are required to soundproof their buildings to contain the noise from worship. Local Councils and citizens ensure compliance and collectively protect public peace.
The regulation pertains to bars, public events and corporate activities as well. Indeed, the law protects citizens’ peace. The peaceful environment remains a major attraction of such communities.
Mr Gambrah’s victory sends a few lessons: No one/entity is above the law. Churches and corporate bodies should be law-abiding and uphold citizens’ right to peaceful existence.
Citizens have the right to protect their rights. In fact, it is a civic responsibility to defend one’s fundamental rights. Enjoying a quiet day and a peaceful night belongs to those rights.
Institutions established to regulate and protect the law have moral duties to ensure justice by penalising wrongdoing, irrespective of the status of the culprit.
Ironically, some find a way to endure noise pollution rather than resist the polluters. On January 22, 2026, while discussing effective listening in class,
I stressed that a quiet environment contributes significantly to effective listening. Some students shared that some teachers created a noisy environment in class.
The latter explained that the pupils could encounter loud noise during the examination, so they should be prepared for such. Sad indeed that citizens opt to endure a harmful situation instead of fighting wrongdoers.
The entrenched nature of noise pollution makes fighting it a gigantic hurdle. I was a panellist in a radio discussion, which featured an officer from the local assembly. I raised noise pollution and neglect of the noise by-law.
The officer agreed that the noise is overwhelming, but complained that the equipment for measuring noise had broken down. The assembly had neither repaired nor replaced it, so they were not monitoring noise. One wonders why the EPA remains indifferent.
In such an environment, any noisemaker can go scot-free, but there are consequences to noise pollution. Effective learning is hampered.
The elderly, already struggling with poor sleep, are deprived of the little sleep they can have. The constant exposure is rendering nationals hard of hearing, which might explain the indifference.
Undoubtedly, there must be a national resolution to curtail noise pollution, which detracts from national dignity.
The writer is a Sr. Lecturer, Language and Communication Skills,
Takoradi Technical University, Takoradi.
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