The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has threatened to close down churches in the Volta Region of Ghana that are operating without permits and in unauthorized areas.
The EPA said that they have only granted permission to churches to operate in specific areas within communities.
These churches are required to renew their permits regularly to continue their operations.
The decision was made after the EPA received multiple complaints about the growing trend of churches operating in unauthorized places and causing noise and other disturbances, especially at night. The EPA has also emphasized that prolonged noise is a public health issue and that it will not tolerate lawless acts with impunity.
The Director of EPA in the Volta Region, Hope Smith Lomotey, held a series of meetings with about 200 church leaders in the region to address issues of building permits and noisemaking.
Representatives from the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC), the Christian Council of Ghana, the National Association of Charismatic Churches, and the National Clergy Association Ghana (NACAG) were among those present at the meetings.
The director stressed that loud noise can lead to hearing impairment, high blood pressure, heart diseases, sleep disorders, and stress, and that the permitted noise level for residential areas during the day is 55 decibels and 48 decibels at night.
