The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has announced intentions to change its existing bye-laws to include heat-health regulations, bolstering the city’s preparedness and response to escalating urban heat dangers.
The changes are the result of a thorough examination of the Assembly’s governance framework, including its Resilience Strategy, Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP 2026–2029), and current regulatory tools, which found substantial gaps in addressing the increasing threat of extreme heat, according to Accra Mayor Hon. Michael Kpakpo Allotey, who made this announcement on Monday following a management meeting.
He explained that the modifications would provide the Assembly the legal power to carry out and enforce heat-related interventions during extreme weather events, as well as additional requirements to acknowledge heat as a public health danger.
He states that the updated bye-laws will include safety precautions in important areas where exposure to intense heat is still significant, such as marketplaces, transit hubs, and temporary buildings.
The Mayor stated that the changes are a part of a larger initiative to protect vulnerable groups, especially outdoor workers and residents of high-risk communities, and to bring the Assembly’s regulatory framework into line with new climate realities.
Prof. Richard Amfo-Otu, a consultant for the Accra Urban Heat Management Project, presented the review’s findings and clarified that, despite AMA’s establishment of structures for urban resilience, urban heat is still not adequately acknowledged and integrated across planning, policy, and regulatory systems.
He pointed out that the current bye-laws do not acknowledge heat as a public health danger and added that buildings could comply with current regulations while yet presenting inhabitants with thermal risks.
He believes that many locals, especially the elderly, kids, and outdoor labourers, are now more vulnerable to heat-related illnesses including heat stroke and dehydration as a result of this regulatory gap.
Professor Amfo-Otu added that the research found deficiencies in a number of important areas, such as public markets, transit services, construction regulations, and informal economic activities, all of which lacked legally binding measures to reduce heat exposure.
He said that in addition to requiring passive cooling designs, better ventilation, and shade infrastructure in buildings and public areas, the proposed modifications would add new legal concepts like “excessive heat” and “heat-health risk.”
He pointed out that the suggested changes would allow for flexible operational measures during heat emergencies and incorporate occupational safety provisions.
Given its importance in lowering urban heat, he underlined that green infrastructure, such as trees and urban vegetation, would be explicitly identified and protected as public health assets under the modified regulatory framework.
Prof. Amfo-Otu emphasised the need for institutional and legislative reforms, pointing out that the city’s capacity to act proactively had been hampered by the lack of a coordinated governance structure and early warning systems.
Source: newsthemegh.com