By Francis Ntow
Accra, July 3, GNA – Ghana is finalising a draft bylaw for implementation by Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDA’s) to complement national efforts to reduce air pollution.
The bylaw, once enforced, will impose a fine of up to 100 penalty units (GHS1,200), a prison term of 30 to 180 days, or both, on individuals or vehicles found polluting the air through prohibited activities such as open burning, vehicular emissions, construction dust, open vehicle and carpentry spraying, and small-scale industrial pollution.
At a stakeholder engagement, Greater Accra Regional Minister, Madam Linda Obenewaa Akweley Ocloo, represented by Mrs. Lilian Baeka, Chief Director of the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council, described the bylaws as essential for improving public health, protecting the environment, and ensuring accountability.
She stated they are “key to public health, environmental protection, and accountability, making them vital for sustainable development.”
The Minister urged the selected Assemblies in the pilot phase to ensure the draft was “a good product to improve the quality of air across the country to enable others to adopt and scale it nationwide.
The forum brought together representatives from 13 of the 29 Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), and security agencies.
Mr. Augustine Niber, Executive Director of the Centre for Public Interest Law (CEPIL), said the bylaw would strengthen institutional collaboration to protect air quality and human health.
“We will leverage existing structures to ensure that the bylaws complement those structures and feed into that broader spectrum so that we can have a level of air quality that will be for public health purposes for all of us,” he said.
Ghana’s average annual air pollution level is about 35 microgrammes per cubic metre—twice the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommended safe limit.
Dr. Elvis Kyere-Gyeabour, Portfolio Manager at Breathe Cities, noted that in areas like Kaneshie and Tetteh Quarshie, levels could spike to as high as 200 microgrammes per cubic metre within 24 hours, posing serious health risks.
“One promising development is the rise of electric vehicles (e-vehicles) in the country, which do not emit pollutants like traditional petrol or diesel vehicles,” he said, encouraging the adoption of e-vehicles and other eco-friendly transport options.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey