Features
When laws do not work …is there justification for abnegation of responsibility? (Part 1)
Two recent developments have given hope to the dream that someday officials of serious disposition would emerge on the public administration scene and change the narrative of non- enforcement of the law by those charged with responsibility to do just that.
Obviously, the two personalities who are men of the moment and who have introduced fresh breath into our work ethic are the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr. Henry Quartey and the Inspector-General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare. Their brilliant achievements at the dawn of their tenure are matters of public record. When the Police recently held an engagement with stakeholders of faith- based organisations on the need to enforce the laws pertaining to their activities, it was taken as a step towards the consolidation of law and order in our society. In particular, the undertaking by the religious bodies to take steps to reduce their noisemaking was gratifying.
There is every reason to believe that the religious bodies will be held to their word and the constant reminder that six decades of independence have not engendered respect for the laws on noise disturbance and the desirability of observing the rights of others not to be disturbed. It is the expectation that since excessive noisemaking is not the preserve of religious groups, the Police will enforce the law offending laws to cover the activities of drink bars, open air night clubs, street- side preachers, announcers at transport hubs, disc jockeys, drug peddlers, unlicensed information centres and shop keepers.
Excessive noisemaking is so entrenched that some members of the public are sceptical about the existence of institutions which have been empowered to control the menace. While it is true that the Police, Local Assemblies and the Environmental Protection Agency have been characterised by inertia in the discharge of this responsibility, the people are steeped in a culture of noisemaking.
The situation is so hopeless that the Daily Graphic of February 15, 2019, had to concede that it is “one nuisance that has been ignored or downplayed by society for a very long time, and in view of that many Ghanaians have come to accept excessive noisemaking as a way of life.” We cannot accept the unhealthy development especially when the institutional leadership can be goaded by national leadership to get their personnel to do the work for which they are paid.
PUBLIC The work of the control agencies would be enhanced if members of the public, individually and collectively, learn to take responsibility and refrain from conduct that would generate undesirable and excessive noisemaking. We have to respect the boundaries of others and recognise the wrongness of our noisy forms of worshipping, clubbing, marketing, mourning and in wanting every neighbour to know that we own powerful radios and sound systems.
POLICE Police role in checking noise offence is set out in the Public Nuisance part of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).Section 293 (1) of the Act empowers the police to arrest persons who operate facilities where people gather to play and dance to music without the written permission of the District Assembly. One could also be arrested for
assembling at such unauthorised places or for resisting orders to disperse from such places.
The Police can seize the musical equipment used at the venues pending eventual confiscation by the courts. The use of music to intentionally provoke, challenge, insult or annoy others violates section 295 and could result in arrests, prosecutions and fines. So would failure to heed warnings to desist from same.
It is an offence under section 296 (7) to ignore warnings and wilfully or wantonly make loud or unseemly noise by whatever means to annoy or disturb any person. It is important to remind the Police Administration of its November 18, 2004, GNA- reported pledge to enforce
this section and “hunt for and ensure the prosecution of individuals and corporate bodies that through their activities made excessive noises that were injurious to human health.” Hopefully, the time is ripe for redeeming the pledge. The enforcement of section 296 (8) which provides for the arrest and prosecution of any person who without the written permission of the
Local Assembly or Minister, plays music in public between eight in the evening and six in the morning would greatly reduce the incidence of noise disturbance.
It is the noisiest period in the country and it is doubtful if any Assembly would grant any such dispensation to a church or entertainment point.Police on night patrols should be able to visit any such premises and halt such activities if the supervisors cannot produce the required permit. Police power to deal with noise offence has been further enhanced by section 57 of the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851) which authorises the Police, the Public Health Officer, owner of premises or his agent to arrest with
out warrant, any person who violates section 54 of the Act by engaging in or encouraging others to engage in noisy business on any premises and which disturbs others. THE LOCAL ASSEMBLIES The Environmental Health and Sanitation Departments of the Assemblies have primary responsibility for enforcing the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851) and the relevant Bye-laws of the Assemblies. Noise offence under the Act is in two parts; Noxious or Noise Disturbance and Public Nuisance. Section 54 of the Act makes it an offence for anyone to engage in or permit any noisy business which adversely affects the health of people in the neighbourhood. On summary conviction, an offender is liable to pay a fine or be imprisoned for each day of further offending. Section 57 authorises the arrest without warrant of a noisy offender by a health officer, among others.
When the arrest is made by a health officer, the person arrested must be handed over to the Police for prosecution within 48 hours. In any District or public place, a person who is determined by the Environmental Protection Agency to have committed public nuisance by defying warnings and persistently making loud or unseemly noise to annoy or disturb anyone could be arrested and upon summary conviction, fined, imprisoned or made to serve both punishments.
Bye- laws which are uniform in large parts provide Assemblies further and more specific basis to control noise disturbance in the localities. For instance, section 1 of the Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly (Abatement of Noise) Bye- laws, 2013 prohibits the sale of records or other recorded music without the approval of the Assembly. Conditions attached are to ensure the public is not disturbed by the activities of the dealer.
By William K. Asiedu
The discussion lasted only ten minutes. Mr Philip Sampson, Eunice’s father, had asked to see him, and he was led to the sitting room for the first time, and he indicated that he should sit down.
‘Yes, Kakraba. I know that you have been, er, friends with Eunice for some months now, and naturally, as her father, I thought it would be important to meet you, and to reach an understanding with you on, er, some basic issues. So, I hear you are a graduate in building technology. Now, tell me about what you do’. ‘Okay. I worked with the Electricity Company for two years after National Service. During that time I interacted with some lawyers and land surveyors on our project sites, so I suggested to some of them that we take some dilapidated buildings in some parts of Accra, rehabilitate them and find new owners. Soon after starting that I got a job as Project Manager with a group of development agencies who are executing projects in the Northern Region, so I have been balancing the two positions’.
‘I see. That sounds like a bold step. So is it going well, financially?’ ‘Well, sir, I absolutely enjoy what I’m doing now. Financially, I would only say that I am a work in progress. A lot of what I’m doing now involves some risk taking, as it involves trust issues with land and property owners.
I am partnering with prominent lawyers and land surveyors, so I am not taking any serious risks. So currently I doing okay financially, but it will take me some time before I reach the level where I can say I am comfortable financially.
‘Okay. Now tell me about your parents’. ‘My father was an Agricultural Extension Officer, so we spent some time at several locations with him. He is now enjoying his retirement. And my mother is a retired nurse. I have three elder sisters, all married’.
‘So you live with your parents?’ ‘Yes and no. My dad built his home on one acre at Pokuase, so he gave me one plot, and I have done a three bedroom house, where I live’. ‘
Okay, fine. Thanks for the answers. You see, in addition to my position socially, I spent many years in the diplomatic service, so I’m sure you will understand that I need to ensure that my kids, especially my daughters, maintain suitable relationships. For now I think it is fine that you and Eunice are friends. I’m sure you understand what I mean’.
‘Yes sir. I understand perfectly well’. ‘Great, okay, that would be all’. Kakraba stood up, bowed and said thank you to Mr Sampson, and walked to the garden where his girlfriend Eunice, her mother Mrs. Elaine Sampson and her two elder sisters, Yvonne and Emma, were seated, busily discussing some dresses being offered for sale online.
‘So, Mrs Elaine asked him, you and Daddy had a good discussion?’
‘Yes, Ma. We certainly did. I really appreciate Dad for the discussion. It was really good’. ‘Great. Although he has met you here on quite a number of occasions, I think it is good that you have met for a chat’.
‘Yes indeed, Ma, and I really appreciate it. So Eunice, I will be on my way. I will call’. Eunice led him to his car, and after driving off he exhaled and shook his head. Although he had long concluded that Eunice’s family were so snobbish that a future relationship with her would be problematic, this discussion, or was it interrogation, had virtually cancelled any likelihood.
Mr. Sampson just told him, in no uncertain terms, that the Sampson family was so prominent and socially connected that a union between his daughter and him was undesirable. He had a good relationship with Eunice. They shared some beautiful moments together, and often went out to entertainment joints, often with her three friends Marian, Patricia and Amanda. But Kakraba was often uncomfortable with their preferences. Eunice regularly spoke about her family’s experiences during her father’s postings in Europe and Asia, and her three friends were always discussing the latest fashion trends, always noting the importance of placing themselves among the best dressed ladies in town. Eunice, her mother and siblings had indicated in several ways that he did not quite fit into their social standing. They had only said a mild ‘thank you’ when he brought them a goat or sheep and a generous amount of foodstuffs from the north, every month. But Kakraba did not really take it to heart, because they were quite inexpensive up north. And moreover, he always went to the food market and arranged with the truck drivers for a big package which was picked up by his buddy Paa John and delivered to his family and a few others including the Sampsons.
When the floodwaters swept through parts of Ghana on Monday, June 29, they carried away more than furniture and household belongings. They washed away years of hard work, children’s school books, market goods, and family savings and, tragically, claimed lives.
For the families that lost loved ones, no amount of assistance can replace the pain of the silence left behind by someone who got lost during the torrential rains.
For many other survivors, the ordeal did not end when the rains stopped, but rather will have the Herculean task of rebuilding their lives from almost nothing.
Mothers searched through debris for anything they could salvage. Children stood quietly beside damaged homes, unsure of when life would return to normal. Traders who lost their wares stared helplessly at soaked goods that represented their only source of income.
This is the situation whenever it rains continuously for hours, yet, once the waters recede, many of the behaviours that contribute to these disasters return.
Drains once cleared become clogged with plastic waste. Waterways are treated as dumping sites, while buildings continue to spring up on wetlands and natural drainage channels.
Effects on women, children
For many women, particularly market traders, farmers and owners of small businesses, the floods had erased years of hard work in a matter of hours.
Merchandise have been destroyed, equipment damaged, and incomes disappear overnight.
With many women working in the informal sector and having limited financial protection, recovery is often slow and difficult.
Beyond the economic losses, women frequently carry the added burden of caring for their families during and after disasters. They clean flood-damaged homes, care for children, older relatives and the sick, secure food and water under difficult circumstances, and help restore a sense of normalcy while coping with their own trauma.
Children are equally vulnerable. Floods disrupt their education by damaging schools and making roads impassable. Many children are displaced from their homes, exposing them to health risks, emotional distress and unsafe living conditions.
For children from already vulnerable households, a flood has deepened poverty and interrupted their development in ways that last long after the waters have receded.
Human activities
The scale of destruction witnessed during floods is often magnified by human behaviour.
Drains designed to carry storm water are clogged with plastic waste, discarded household items and other refuse.
Wetlands and natural waterways are encroached upon through unplanned development, leaving floodwaters with nowhere to go.
Although floods affect everyone in their path, women and children often suffer the greatest consequences.
Climate Change
Climate change has made rainfall more intense and unpredictable, but it is the actions of humans that often turn heavy rains into humanitarian disasters.
As the nation reflects on the devastation caused by the recent floods, one question demands urgent attention: How much of this destruction could have been prevented?
Climate change and increasingly intense rainfall are undeniable factors, the uncomfortable truth is that many of these disasters are worsened by human actions.
Choked drains, indiscriminate waste disposal and the encroachment on waterways continue to turn heavy rains into avoidable tragedies.
Climate change has undoubtedly increased the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, but it is only one part of the story.
UNICEF report
These concerns are reflected in UNICEF’s Children’s Climate Risk Report 2026, which warns that hundreds of millions of children worldwide face multiple climate hazards, including flooding.
According to the report, climate-related disasters threaten children’s health, education, nutrition and protection, with children in vulnerable communities facing the greatest risks.
The report also highlights how existing inequalities often compound the impact of climate emergencies on women and children.
Floodwaters contaminated by waste also increase the risk of outbreaks of cholera, typhoid, diarrhoea and malaria. Pregnant women, nursing mothers, young children, older persons and people living with disabilities are particularly susceptible to these health threats.
United Nations (UN) Women notes that women and children are often disproportionately affected by climate-related disasters because they are more likely to experience poverty, carry greater caregiving responsibilities and have fewer resources to recover from disasters.
When floods destroy livelihoods, existing inequalities become even more pronounced. The painful truth is that many of these losses are avoidable.
Way forward
No drainage system, regardless of how well designed, can function effectively if it is filled with refuse. No flood prevention programme can succeed if wetlands continue to be reclaimed for construction or if sanitation regulations are ignored.
Preventing floods is therefore not the responsibility of government alone. It requires a collective commitment from every citizen.
Proper waste disposal, regular community clean-up exercises, respect for planning regulations and the protection of waterways are simple but powerful actions that can save lives.
Government must equally strengthen waste management systems, enforce environmental and building regulations without compromise, invest in climate-resilient infrastructure and ensure that disaster preparedness and response strategies address the specific needs of women, children and other vulnerable groups.
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has repeatedly emphasised that reducing disaster risk is far less costly than responding to disasters after they occur.
Investing in prevention, strengthening institutions and promoting responsible environmental practices remain among the most effective ways of protecting lives and livelihoods.
The recent floods should serve as more than another headline. They should be a national wake-up call.
Climate change may be beyond the control of any one individual, but how we treat our environment is not. Every plastic bottle thrown into a drain, every illegal structure erected on a waterway and every act of indiscriminate dumping contributes to a cycle of destruction that claims lives and undermines national development.
If Ghana is to break that cycle, environmental responsibility must become a shared national value.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
