Ghana has made history as the first African nation to deploy a high-tech emissions monitoring system, designed to strengthen environmental quality management and tackle industrial pollution more effectively.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Professor Nana Ama Browne Klutse, announced the launch of the Ghana Online Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (GOCEMS) in Accra.
She explained that the system is a major step forward in addressing longstanding challenges such as data reliability, availability, and timeliness in monitoring industrial emissions.
“Real-time monitoring will help us quickly identify and respond to pollution events, which has been a key gap in our current system,” Professor Klutse noted.
She added that while Ghana’s Environmental Assessment procedures, introduced under the Environmental Assessment Regulations, 1999 (LI 1652), have promoted responsible environmental stewardship, pollution management remains a pressing challenge.
According to her, industries ranging from plastics to food processing often generate harmful waste, either through air pollution caused by chemical emissions or water pollution from industrial discharge.
Until now, the EPA relied heavily on in-person inspections, which were both time-consuming and limited in scope.
“Technology now allows us to move beyond frequent site visits. With GOCEMS, we can detect incidents as they happen, verify exact times of occurrences, and provide facilities with detailed feedback on environmental quality data,” she explained.
She emphasized that the system will enable the EPA to enforce compliance with emission standards more effectively and reduce the negative environmental and health impacts of industrial activity.
Professor Klutse concluded with a call to action: “Pollution knows no boundaries. The choices we make today will determine the quality of our environment and the health of future generations.”
Joining the event, Dr. Immaculate Sware Semesi, Director-General of Tanzania’s National Environment Council (NEMC), congratulated Ghana on the milestone.
She revealed that Tanzania is preparing to roll out a similar system soon, noting that such platforms will provide real-time data on pollutant levels in emissions and support informed decision-making across the continent.
Akosua Agyapomaa Antwi
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