AMA sanctions 10 evangelists for lack of preaching permit and noisemaking
Ten evangelists have received punishment from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) for making noise and preaching on the street without a license.
Five other individuals who used public address systems to sell goods in the Central Business District (CBD) also perished, according to a news article posted on the assembly’s website.
The 2017 AMA Abatement of Noise Bye-Law is alleged to have been broken by the offenders.
According to a report on ama.gov.gh, “Public Health Officers of the Assembly issued the notices on Friday, July 15, 2022 when they stormed the CBD to execute the Abatement of Noise Bye-Law.”
He added that under Section 9 of the AMA Abatement of Noise Bye-Law, public preachers were expected to obtain a street preaching permit from the AMA, which mandates them to go about their activities from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. with adherence to the permissible noise level.
He explained that under the Abatement of Noise Bye-law, churches or religious institutions conducting services shall not allow music to be played or to preach at a service so loud as to cause disturbances to residents in an area, adding that such services must be between 5 am and 10 pm, the website reports.
Ankrah is quoted to have said: “A person shall not within 100 metres of a hospital, clinic or other places used for the treatment of sickness or public library, blow any musical instrument. The horn of a motor vehicle shall also not make unnecessary noise.”
He disclosed that the assembly is poised to clamp down on noisemaking in its catchment area, so it procured new dosimeters for that purpose.
He warned that any person who violates the bye-law commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than 100 penalty units.
