A.M.A. Public Health Dept. and Simpson Anim Boateng

Mosques There isn't a single mosque in Awudome, yet every morning, we are disturbed as early as 3:00 AM by mosques from all directions. The worst is the one at Kaneshie Market. Our Okaikoi South Environmental Health Officer is Christiana Adzra. She lives at Adentan and in my experience, has no feel whatsoever for Okaikoi South because she lives so far away. She was apparently unaware that there were mosques in her ward. Multiple times, I have raised this issue with Simpson Anim Boateng. His position is that one has to be Muslim to complain against a mosque. St. Theresa's Catholic Church has decided that we should all wake up at 5:00AM, even on weekends. I have complained severally to this Boateng character, but he said, "I am Catholic." What his denomination has to do with the complaint is beyond me.

Preachers on Sidewalks Several preachers block multiple sidewalks with their sound systems at Kaneshie which forces pedestrians onto roads and into vehicular traffic. Furthermore, the market women situated around the preachers have to endure dangerous noise levels which are harmful to their health, whether or not they know it. Some of them exhibit obvious discomfort and try to orient themselves away from the loudspeakers. Our Public Health Dept. couldn't care less and leaves the vendors to their plight. There is no evidence that Okaikoi S. even has a Public Health Dept. The state of affairs here suggests that as far as they are concerned, if there is no complaint, then there is no problem. I had to report them to Hon. Vanderpuije before this delinquent department responded to my complaints. Even so, that Boateng character continues to encourage noise pollution.

Preachers on Bridge The worst of the preachers are those on the bridge across Kaneshie Police Station. Their elevation on the bridge enables their loudspeakers to project beyond the market into Kaneshie and Awudome residential areas. Their noise reverberates throughout our bedrooms and schools as early as 4:00 AM and persists for another eight hours. Every morning, we are subjected to this menace until around 12:00 PM. I have reported this multiple times to Christiana Adzra, who has done absolutely nothing because she claims the bridge is out of her jurisdiction. If so, one would expect a dedicated Environmental Health Officer to relay the problem to her colleague across the bridge, but that's not the type of Environmental Health Officer we have. The Boateng character is even more apathetic and actually encourages the preachers with their noise pollution.

I returned home after 29 years to a neighborhood that had been reduced to a marketplace. We were surrounded by street vendors and three bars who in addition to filth, generated endless noise. Neighbors burned refuse after midnight; the street vendors converted the sidewalk to a radio and TV-viewing area with excessive noise, and their refuse filled the gutters and the front of my home. In addition to a neighbor in the Mensah household who watched movies all night, there were some 24-hour periods when we could not sleep.

Day and night, on weekdays and weekends, by letters, text messages, phone calls and in person, I appealed to Christiana Adzra and Simpson Anim Boateng for help. Adzra's attitude was that there was no problem. Boateng was worse. "I am on my way", which was a lie. Another day, it would be, "I'll be there in two hours," which was a lie. Another day, it was, "I am outside your gate," which was a lie. "I will prosecute them," was a lie. When I inquired about the status of the prosecution, he said, "I am working on it," which was a lie. This Boateng character strung me along with lies for several months until Hon. Vanderpuije rebuked him in December, 2013 and ordered him to address the noise.

After defying a written notice, Boateng went with a task force to confiscate the sound system of the preachers on the bridge who wake us as early as 4:00 AM every morning. Astonishingly, this Boateng character returned the sound system to the preachers within a week. He lied that the preachers tricked his department and that it would never happen again. Yet, again and again, this Boateng character returned the sound system to the same offenders and lied about it. I went to the bridge around 4:15 AM several mornings to verify the source of the noise. Yesterday, these same preachers began blasting their speakers into our bedrooms at 4:34 AM and will do so tomorrow and the day after and the day after and the day after... every day!

Lorry Park Loudspeakers Most people at lorry parks are helpful and eager to direct one to the correct vehicle and so there is no need whatsoever for loudspeakers all over the lorry park at Kaneshie Market. These loudspeakers blare over Kaneshie and Awudome residential areas for up to 16 hours per day. The market and lorry park do just fine during Homowo when there is a ban on noise-making for a month, and so the blaring of their loudspeakers into our bedrooms and classrooms is utterly and completely redundant. The taxi rank doesn't mount speakers anywhere, yet passengers are able to find them without difficulty. In addition to residents, there are several schools from nursery to JHS and so the blaring of speakers is very inconsiderate indeed. This is an obvious case that a well-managed Public Health Dept. would have addressed without anybody having to file a complaint, but ours does nothing proactively. It doesn't occur to our Public Health Dept. to patrol the area to identify harmful conduct. As far as they are concerned, if there is no complaint, then there is no problem.

Ethel Jacks Bar I live among four bars and multiple street vendors who have been a challenge to align with noise regulations. The worst is Ethel Jacks Bar whose repeated disregard of cautions from this Public Health Dept. encourages the other bars and vendors to also increase their volumes because they don't want her music in their establishments; they want to hear their own radio or TV. I have been reporting this bar since January 2013. After being rebuked, this Boateng character, along with a certain Mr. Yalla, went to issue a Final Notice to that bar. Ethel disregarded them as usual, which I reported to Boateng. He said he invited Ethel to sign yet another Final Notice and that if I reported her again, he would take action. He also promised me a copy of their Agreement. Several times, I informed him that Ethel had resumed blasting her speakers, but this Boateng character did nothing. She knows this Public Health Dept. won't monitor her after 5:00 PM on weekdays and on weekends, and so she is loudest on weekends and at night on weekdays. I went to his office to obtain a copy of the Agreement which he had promised me in December, 2013. Instead of seeking to resolve the noise problem with Ethel Jacks Bar, this Boateng character rather threatened me.

Multiple times, he returned the confiscated sound systems to the preachers on the bridge which encourages them to continue their noise for up to 8 hours a day, starting around 4:00 AM. What motivates his behaviour? Ethel Jacks Bar continues to be issued verbal cautions even after multiple Final Notices. That encourages her to continue flouting the noise regulations, which in turn, tempts the other bars and street vendors to also increase their noise levels in order to hear their own radios and TV. Is this Boateng character merely incompetent or is he taking bribes? What motivates his behaviour?

Two Bars in Mensah Household There are two bars in the house to my immediate left. The second bar used to operate inside the house until a neighbour reported them. Now, that second bar operates in open view on a tabletop in front of the house. There is another bar in front of the same house that blares loud music all night. The Mensah household has been warned several times by Public Health Dept. and issued Final Notices, yet continue with their noise. They start their loud music around 6:00PM and have gone as late as 12:30AM.

The Public Health Dept. visits them during the day when the bar is closed, then conclude that there is no noise and dismiss my complaints. Another Okaikoi South Environmental Health Officer, Mr.Gyan, is a friend of the Mensah household and has avoided monitoring them. Every night, we are deprived of peace by the two bars in the Mensah household, yet the Public health Dept. continues to issue warnings upon warnings upon warnings upon warnings, even after Final Notices have already been issued. Chief of Security, Mr. Okine, was very effective in stopping a church here that used to blast their speakers from 9:30PM until 4:30AM. Please have him help us with the two bars in the Mensah household.

Boateng lies repeatedly to deny public service and is complicit in the noise pollution, but under no circumstance should he threaten ANY member of the public. He lacks the competency and integrity to head a table-top venture, let alone the AMA Public Health Dept. I have limited this letter to the unbridled noise pollution over Kaneshie and Awudome residential areas, but the negligence of our Public Health Dept. in other areas leaves much to be desired. Are there no decent and competent alternatives out of over 25 million Ghanaians who could run the Public Health Dept. of our capital city?

There is very deep frustration in the country, some of which is due to inflation, but the sheer indolence, incompetence and impudence of the likes of this AMA Public Health Dept. are major factors. While this delinquent department claims a lack of manpower, on some of my visits to their offices, staff were either fast asleep or laying on a bench or listening to music on a couch or slouched over a desk or just idling. Given our meagre national resources, such overt indolence is nauseating. The staff would not be sleeping and idling if this department were under a competent Director.

I am pleading with AMA Management to take a look at this Public Health Dept. and a closer look at that Boateng character. Since January 2013, they have proved incapable of resolving the multiple noise pollution here, so please have Mr. Okine help us, especially with the two bars in the Mensah household next door. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Ababio Egyir.