AMA announces noise-making ban: No drums, no loudspeakers, no funerals from May 4

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly has announced a one-month ban on drumming and noise-making across the Ga Traditional Area, beginning Monday, May 4 and ending Thursday, June 4, 2026. 

In a press release signed by the Head of Public Affairs, Gilbert Nii Ankrah, the Assembly warned that all religious and social activities producing excessive noise must cease entirely for the duration of the period.

Some areas covered by the ban include communities around the Accra Metropolitan Assembly Head Office, Gamashie, Ablekuma West and Kasoa.

Churches have been directed to conduct their services strictly within their premises without the use of musical instruments. The Assembly further stated that loudspeakers fixed outside churches, mosques, and pubs are prohibited, while roadside evangelists must suspend their activities entirely until the ban is lifted.

The Ga Traditional Council, in a parallel directive, has imposed a ban on funeral rites and all related activities, meaning no public mourning, procession, or burial ceremonies involving amplified sound or drumming will be permitted.

In a strong appeal for interfaith restraint, the AMA urged religious bodies and traditional authorities to show mutual respect and prevent their followers from making derogatory or inflammatory remarks about the beliefs and practices of others. The notice stressed that such remarks could undermine the peace and harmony the ban seeks to protect.

Enforcement, the Assembly clarified, rests solely with an identifiable joint task force comprising AMA personnel, the Ghana Police Service, and representatives of the Traditional Councils. All members of this team will wear tags. No private person or unauthorised group is allowed to enforce the noise abatement.

Residents, towns, and villages within the Ga Traditional Area are expected to cooperate fully. The AMA described the period as the “Nmaa Dumo” observance and appealed for compliance to ensure an incident-free season. The release ended with the familiar civic call: “Accra, live in, love it!!!”

“All are enjoined to abide by these guidelines,” the notice read. “For peace, harmony and national security.”