[ 2014-09-16 ]

Assembly drags 20 churches to court
The Ga South Municipal Assembly has dragged 20
churches to court for flouting its directive on
noise making.

One of the churches, Anointed Prayer Ministry at
McCarthy Hill was last week, fined GHC 240 by the
Ga South District Magistrate's Court and banned
from using musical instruments during service.

The court is yet to give its ruling on the rest of
the churches.

The assembly has also clamped down on small
churches springing up at odd places such as
people's backyards and houses, not registered with
the assembly.

Speaking to The Ghanaian Times last Friday, after
a stakeholders' meeting on street naming and house
numbering, the Municipal Chief Executive Jerry
Akwei Thompson, said so far, six of such churches
had been closed down.

He said 40 churches had registered with the
assembly following The Ghanaian Times publication
on the issue, and the sub­sequent closure of the
churches.

According to him, the Ga South Munici­pal
Assembly's action on noise making and
establishment of churches was to ensure that,
sanity prevailed in the manner that church
activities were carried out in the assembly's
area.

“We are not against the churches, but we are
also obliged to consider the welfare of the
residents whose peace is being threat­ened by
such noises especially at night,” he said.

The assembly, in April this year, gave churches
within the assembly a 21-day ulti­matum to
install sound proof systems in their church
buildings or face closure.

This follows complaints by residents within the
municipality, demanding action to be taken against
churches that make ex­cessive noise especially at
night.

Mr. Thompson said the assembly, upon discussions
with the churches within its jurisdiction, had set
April ending as the deadline for all churches to
comply with the directive.

He indicated that the assembly's di­rective was
an enforcement of its bye- laws on noise making,
and that churches which would not comply would
face the full rigours of the law.

He further advised the churches to regulate their
sound levels, to at most 58 decibels at night.

Mr. Thompson again expressed worry about the
springing up of churches in the assembly without
proper pro­cesses, saying “The assembly would
soon clamp down on such churches”.

He advised them to obtain permits from the
assembly before putting up church buildings,
adding that regulating their activities
periodically with the as­sembly would avert the
complaints about their activities.

Source - Ghanaian Times

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