1.10 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Krachi East Municipality which is in the Oti Region of the Republic of Ghana was carved out of the former Krachi District with its administrative capital at Dambai. The Municipality was established by Legislative Instrument (L.I. 1755). The Assembly was inaugurated on the 19th of August, 2004 at Dambai. Subsequently, it was elevated to the status of a Municipality by Legislative Instrument (L.I. 2281) on 14th November, 2017.
1.11 GEOPHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
1.11.1 Location and size The Municipality is located at Oti Region of Ghana and lies between latitudes 7º 40’N and 8º 15’N and longitudes 0º 6’E and 0º20’E. It is bounded to the South West by Krachi West District, North West by Krachi Nchumuru District, Biakoye to the South East, Kadjebi District to the East, and Nkwanta South to the North. It has a total surface area of 2759.4 sq. km with water covering about 15%.This location places the Municipality at a strategic position – the central point between the Northern and Southern parts of the Eastern corridor of Ghana.The Municipality can therefore take advantage of its strategic location to invest in gateway programmes to both the Southern and Northern Ghana. Similarly, strategic facilities of national importance aimed at wider coverage for both the southern and northern Ghana can be conveniently located in the Municipality to achieve the desired results. Being strategically located in the transitional zone, the Municipality has the advantage of experiencing mixed climatic conditions that has both positive and adverse implications for the Municipality’s development. Maps 1, 2 and 3 show the Municipality in the National context, in the Regional context and the Municipality context respectively.
Figure 1: Map of Krachi East in the National Context
Figure 2: Map of Krachi East in the Regional Context
Figure 3: Map of Krachi East Municipality
1.11.2 Relief and Drainage The Municipality lies between the Northern parts of the central uplands with hills ranging between 850m to 1000m above sea level around Asukawkaw and Katanga areas. The Northern part of the Municipality is part of the North Western Savanna Zone of the Oti region which is characterized by almost flat relief with slopes ranging between 85m and 300m above sea level. The Municipality is drained by the Volta Lake which forms the boundary between the Municipality and the Krachi Nchumuru and Krachi West Districts. The Asukawkaw River is another major river that drains the Municipality and also marks the end of the Municipality to Biakoye District. Other water bodies found in the Municipality include numerous intermittent streams located in most parts of the Municipality. These water bodies constitute important resources for the people as most of them depend on them for household use, fishing and transportation. Similarly, the major hills present great potentials for the development of Tourism in the area. However, the topography does not allow for easy road development and most of the communities in the area are accessible only by foot paths through the high terrains. Generally, the area is well drained except that few portions located close to the major rivers and streams become waterlog and pose problems for human and vehicular movement in the rainy seasons. The water bodies also create large expanse of river banks that offer enviable advantage for rice cultivation.
1.11.3 Climate The mean maximum temperature is 300C usually recorded in March while mean minimum temperature is 25.50C usually recorded in August. The Municipality experiences an alternating wet and dry seasons each year. The rainfall pattern is single maxima towards the northern part of the Municipality with the rains occurring in April to October and double maxima at the south eastern tip. August is usually the peak of the rains. Mean annual rainfall is 1,300mm.The dry season starts from November to March. Relative humidity is high in the rainy season, about 85% and very low in the dry season (25%) especially during the harmattan period which hits the Municipality from November to January.
This climatic pattern is good for food crop production and to a lower extent, forest development. However, the concentration of the rains in six (6) months affect farming since most parts of the year when rains are off is usually declared as “off farming” and the people spend most of this period idling. Similarly, the pattern also affect accessibility as most of the community access roads become flooded with water hence making transportation almost impossible during rainy seasons.
1.11.4 Vegetation The Municipality is located in the transitional zone between the Northern Savannah and the Moist Semi Deciduous forest. About 75% of the Municipality is covered with savannah grass land characterized by short drought resistant trees notable among them are shea, dawadawa, etc. This type of open vegetation is predominant at the northern parts of the Municipality. Significant portion of forest vegetation could be found in the Municipality especially at the southern part characterized by forest tree species such as Odum, Wawa, Mahogany etc. Fringing vegetation can also be found along the major rivers that drain the Municipality.
1.11.5 Soils The major soils found in the Municipality include the Techiman Association, mainly sandy soil found in the north, Kplesawgu Association (sandy clay soil) in the mid portions and southern tip, and the Dormabin-Dentesso Association (silty sand) found around Dormabin. It was discovered that no soil management practice is being practised in the Municipality. This coupled with continuous cultivation resulted to wide spread loss of soil fertility in most parts of the Municipality. These soil types described above is good for the cultivation of both cash and food crops such as maize, millet, groundnut, as well as roots and tubers such as cassava and yam. The soils along the river banks support large scale rice farming and those at south eastern tip support cocoa cultivation. Few patches of clay soil were also discovered around Asukawkaw area and that could be very useful for development of the pottery industry that could serve as an alternative source of livelihood to farmers especially during the dry seasons.
1.12 BIODIVERSITY, CLIMATE CHANGE, GREEN ECONOMY AND THE ENVIRONMENT The Municipality is vulnerable to the effects of climate change because of the dependence of much of its population on agriculture, particularly rain-fed agriculture.
Climate variability and change is a threat to the Municipality’s natural resources including water, vegetation, fisheries and biodiversity in general.
Climate change in the Municipality is manifested through: (i) rising temperatures, (ii) declining rainfall totals and increased variability, (iii) high incidence of weather extremes and disasters.
1.12.1 Climate Change Impacts in the Municipality Agriculture: Agriculture which is the largest employer within the Municipality suffers the most from climate change. Inadequate rainfall amounts have impacted negatively on crop production causing fluctuations in total production thereby affecting livelihoods of many in rural areas. The rising temperatures and frequent droughts that experienced every year increase the incidences of bushfires yearly and other environmental problems. The Fall Army Worm infestation that hit the Municipality in 2017 affected 145.8 hectares of farmland with 144 male farmers and 20 female farmers affected.
Impacts on the Social Sectors: Increases in temperature has caused a proliferation of the malaria-carrying mosquitoes leading to 44,783 reported cases of malaria in 2017. (Source: Health Directorate, 2017).
Impacts on Infrastructure: Climate change continues to impact negatively on infrastructure such as residential accommodation and educational structures across the Municipality. The flooding that hit the Municipality in the year 2017 affected forty nine (49) buildings.
1.12.2 Natural and Built Environment The quality of both the natural and built environment is vital for the sustainable growth and development of the Municipality. Developmental initiatives can only be meaningful and sustainable when it is founded on a well-managed and healthy built environment. To this end the protection of natural environment to prevent deforestation, land degradation and loss of ecosystem is paramount. The Municipality’s Natural and Built Environment are therefore examined in this section.
1.12.2.1 Natural Environment The Municipality’s Natural environment is characterized by numerous problems emanating from the rainfall pattern, nature of soils, use of energy resources, farming and household activities.
The pattern of rainfall experienced in the Municipality to a large extent contributes to the environmental degradation of the Municipality. From November to March when the rains are off, the area becomes dry and the vegetation is destroyed by bush fires leaving the land bare. This serves as avenue for extensive soil erosion when the rains set-in in April. This phenomenon has led to extensive land degradation in most parts of the Municipality.
Significant portions of the Municipality abound with clay soils and this poses serious problems for human and vehicular movement due to the floods that are normally associated with clay with the onset of the rains. According to the 2010 Population and Housing Census, about 94.1 percent households depend on wood and charcoal as the main source of energy. The collection of wood and the burning of charcoal lead to environmental degradation in all the settlements in the Municipality. The main problems associated with the use of charcoal and wood as the main sources of energy includes:
Deforestation Soil erosion Loss of soil fertility Ecological imbalance
The practice of clearing and burning the vegetation for farming in the Municipality also cause erosion and deforestation in the Municipality.
The main problems of the Municipality environment and sanitation are caused by household activities. Based on the 2010 Population and Housing Census, about 68.4 percent and 89.4 percent of households respectively dispose of both liquid and solid waste indiscriminately on their compounds and in open spaces, and these are carried into the various water bodies by run- offs thereby polluting them. The logical consequence of this is the widespread incidence of sanitation related diseases such as diarrhoea, bilharzias, river blindness, dysentery etc.
1.12.2.2 Built Environment The current state of the built environment leaves much to be desired. This is traceable to poor spatial planning, poor waste management, inability of the Assembly to enforce the bye laws, poor building technology etc. With the absence of effective development control machinery in the Municipality, physical development has been haphazard and uncoordinated leading to incompatible land uses especially in the urban and semi urban settlements of Dambai, Asukawkaw, Tokuroano and Dormabin etc. Worse still is the general absence of drains in the Municipality that has exposed most communities to severe erosion resulting in rills and gullies and exposed foundations of buildings. The condition of the roads in the Municipality generally is not the best but reasonably motorable. This reduces traveling time by almost 60%.
A number of sites have been reported to contain essential mineral deposits including crude oil, gold, clay, tile stone etc. However, further investigations need to be conducted to ascertain the facts about some of these sites. The sites include:
Rich Island at Adukpanchuru containing crude oil deposits Gold deposits at Kunda Tile stone deposits at Kunda and Asukawkaw Sand deposits at Dormabin Smooth sand deposits at Kparekpare Gravel at Anyabor and Kparekpare Clay at Asukawkaw
1.13 WATER SECURITY The main sources of water for the people in the Municipality include the Oti River, Volta Lake, Dams and seasonal streams as well as boreholes. In order to ensure that the Municipality populace have access to potable water the GoG, Krachi East Municipal Assembly, World Vision, Afram Plains Development Organisation and private organizations have provided a number of water facilities in some communities.
There are currently about thirty(30) mechanised boreholes with limited reticulation, ninety (90) public boreholes, and 4 hand dug wells in the Municipality.
Even though there are a number of mechanised boreholes and non-mechanised boreholes in the Municipality, there is much work to be done to increase the water coverage considering the rising population.
Considering a current projected population of 137,005 with the above water facility provision, it means only about 40 percent of the population have access to potable water which is woefully inadequate.
Moreover, the existence of the Lake Volta in the Municipality is an assurance of water security but investments would have to be made to harness the water availability and supply to the entire Municipality.
Figure 4: Location of Public Boreholes
Figure 5: Location of Public Water Systems
Figure 6: Location of Private Water Systems
Figure 7: Location of Hand Dug Wells
1.14 NATURAL AND MAN MADE DISASTERS The Municipality is prone to a wide variety of natural and human-induced disasters. Occurrences such as floods, fires, water pollution etc. cause losses to livelihoods, property and lives at times. Mitigation measures are relatively low in the Municipality and the Municipality is inadequately equipped and prepared to cope with the impacts of most of these disasters. Reducing disaster risk through preventive measures has therefore become a central concern for sustainable development in the Municipality. It is important that the Municipality adopt cost-effective policies in collaboration with agencies like Disaster Prevention and Management Department, GNFS etc. to lower risk and allocate appropriate resources for disaster mitigation. The Municipality is prone to some of the following disasters:
Floods: Floods are among the most devastating natural hazards in the Municipality especially in communities along the Volta Lake. While the primary cause of flooding is abnormally high rainfall, there are many human-induced contributory causes such as: land degradation, deforestation of catchment areas; poor land use planning, inadequate drainage systems etc.
In 2017, eighteen communities got flooded with 49 houses being affected and eighty one houses were devastated.
Fires: Bush and domestic fires caused by human activities are becoming more frequent in the Municipality. These fires destroy biodiversity and reduce the regeneration capacity of the vegetation. Although these fires cause few deaths, valuable resources are lost, thereby contributing to and deepening poverty. In the year 2015, bush fires gutted eight (8) community destroying properties worth Millions of Ghana Cedis. Also, in 2016 twenty three (23) communities with one hundred and twenty one (121) households with a population of 1,308 were affected. Seven communities were hit in the year 2017 with a population of 477 being affected.
Rain storms: This phenomenon is rampant in the Municipality especially during rainy seasons. In 2014, eighty eight houses and four schools were devastated as a result of windstorms. Also, in the year 2015, twenty nine houses were destroyed. In the subsequent year, three (3) communities involving sixty four (64) households with a population of 332 were affected.
Boat Disasters: Boat accidents are rampant on the Volta Lake due to the presence of tree stumps and non-compliance to safety regulations. A boat accident that occurred at Ayirafie Battor killed eighteen (18) persons mostly women and children. A canoe accident also killed two (2) persons at Ativikope in the same year. Efforts are underway by GOG to remove these stumps to make transportation on the Lake safer.
Epidemics: Outbreak of diseases such as cholera and typhoid is still a major health concern in the Municipality and most these epidemics are as a result of poor sanitation and environmental activities. Air and water pollution: Air pollution is becoming a serious environmental problem in the major towns of the Municipality due to urbanization. The use of old and outdated vehicles, other machinery, and also misapplication of chemicals for agricultural purposes is seriously affecting air quality in the Municipality. Most water bodies are also being polluted due to the use of unapproved fishing methods and other human activities.
Land degradation: Land degradation caused by erosion, desertification, deforestation, and poor agricultural practices has been destroying the resources on which most farmers and their families depend.
1.15 NATURAL RESOURCES AND THEIR UTILIZATION The Municipality’s natural resources include water bodies, sand and clay deposits, quarry and etc. These resources serve mainly as sources of livelihood and employment for majority of the people in the Municipality. However, some human activities are playing a major role in the destruction of these resources which may eventually lead to loss of livelihoods. These activities include deforestation, bush burning, and use of unauthorized methods in fishing etc. The Assembly is expected to enforce its by-laws in relation to these activities to avoid over exploitation of such resources. The Assembly is also expected to promote sustainable use of such resources and also promote the use of modern technologies in the exploitation of the resources.
1.16 DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS Population is a critical issue in every Municipality development. The Population of a Municipality is its greatest resource. It is the instrument and objective of the Municipality’s development, hence the protection and enhancement of its welfare is the Municipality’s first responsibility. (Ghana Population Policy, 1969)
Population size, composition and age-sex structure are important factors which determine a potential labour force and the provision of basic social services such as education, health, sanitation, shelter etc. required to improve the standard of living of the people. The population of the Municipality is estimated to be growing at a rate of 2.4 percent per annum. This means between 1600-4400 persons are being added to the population each year and therefore there would be the need to make adequate provision for infrastructure expansion and maintenance to enhance public services delivery and welfare.
1.16.1 Population Size and Distribution Projected population figures from the 2010 PHC by the Ghana Statistical Service, puts the total population of the Municipality at 137,005 in 2017 with males constituting 49 percent whilst females constitute 51 percent.
1.16.2 Population Size and Density The urban/rural analysis shows that the Municipality has an urban population representing 27.7 percent and a rural population of 72.3 percent. This indicates that most people in the Municipality live in the rural areas than in the urban areas.
Further, the proportion of the population living in rural areas is higher than those in the urban areas across all the age groups in the Municipality (Table 7).
The population density for the Municipality is currently about 50 persons per square kilometre; these compared with the regional average of 103 persons per square kilometer in the year 2010 indicates that the Municipality is sparsely populated.
However, compared to the rate of food production, the Municipality cannot be said to be under populated and hence steps need to be taken to reduce the rate of growth through the provision of adequate social services and recreation facilities in all the communities in the Municipality.
1.16.3 Age/Sex Distribution An analysis of the Age/Sex distribution is important for the Municipality’s development since needs and aspirations vary with age and sex. Hence having adequate information on the age/sex distribution of the Municipality’s population will inform appropriate planning aimed at ensuring equity in the distribution of resources across gender or sex.
1.16.4 Sex ratio Sex ratio is defined as the ratio of males to females in every population at a given time. The sex ratio at birth for most countries is about 105 or 106 males per 100 females. After birth, sex ratio varies because of different patterns of mortality and migration for males and females within the population.
The sex structure of the population on the basis of the projected population revealed that 49.0 percent of the population was male and 51.0 percent female; thus putting the sex ratio at 0.96:1.
The Total Fertility Rate being 4.3 births per woman implies a continuous increase in population which is likely to put pressure on existing facilities. Family planning strategies need to be put in place to reduce the expected growth in population.
Table 1: Population by Age, Sex and type of locality
Sex Type of locality Both Sex Age Group Sexes Male Female ratio Urban Rural All Ages 116,804 60,730 56,074 108.3 32,400 84,404 0 - 4 19,820 10,206 9,614 106.2 4,547 15,273 5 – 9 17,604 9,223 8,381 110.0 4,422 13,182 10 – 14 14,791 7,988 6,803 117.4 4,357 10,434 15 - 19 12,006 6,696 5,310 126.1 3,995 8,011 20 - 24 9,902 4,942 4,960 99.6 3,062 6,840 25 - 29 8,585 4,045 4,540 89.1 2,560 6,025 30 - 34 7,344 3,562 3,782 94.2 2,074 5,270 35 - 39 6,084 2,990 3,094 96.6 1,635 4,449 40 - 44 5,132 2,666 2,466 108.1 1,340 3,792 45 - 49 4,209 2,215 1,994 111.1 1,102 3,107 50 - 54 3,355 1,761 1,594 110.5 863 2,492 55 - 59 1,961 1,159 802 144.5 627 1,334 60 - 64 1,823 996 827 120.4 482 1,341 65 - 69 1,039 608 431 141.1 342 697 70 - 74 1,204 643 561 114.6 393 811 75 - 79 724 378 346 109.2 231 493 80 - 84 664 334 330 101.2 196 468 85 - 89 290 166 124 133.9 82 208 90 - 94 183 100 83 120.5 53 130 95 - 99 84 52 32 162.5 37 47 All Ages 116,804 60,730 56,074 108.3 32,400 84,404 0-14 52,215 27,417 24,798 110.6 13,326 38,889 15-64 60,401 31,032 29,369 105.7 17,740 42,661 65+ 4,188 2,281 1,907 119.6 1,334 2,854 Age-dependency ratio 93.38 95.70 90.93 82.64 97.85 Source: Ghana Statistical Service, 2010 Population and Housing Census
The population structure of the Municipality depicts what pertains at the national level consisting of a broad base made up of a large number of children and a small number of elderly persons at the apex with similar proportional shares of male and female populations across the age groups. Figure 8 shows the age-sex distribution of the population in the Krachi East Municipality. The large population of young, economically unproductive individuals appeared to be growing rapidly. The broad base means a population momentum has been built into the population which will cause population growth over a period of time. A youthful population means that more efforts should be geared towards youthful policies and programmes.
The total labour force (15-64 years) is 51.7 percent of the total population indicating the availability of a large pool of working population for productive work. The proportion of the older persons 65 years and older of 3.7 percent is however lower than the regional percentage of 6.4 percent.
Further analysis of Table 6 indicates a relatively large proportion of children, thus, an under-five population of about 17.0 percent. The population below 15 years (0-14) is 44.7 percent, a little higher than children below 15 years for the entire Volta region (36.3%). The Youth population (15 – 19) accounted for 10.3 percent of the total population.
The total labour force (15-64 years) is 51.7 percent of the total population implying a large pool of working population available to be harnessed for productive work. Taking the labour force of 15-64 years only, a little above fifty percent (50.5%) is below 30 years; while 22.2 percent is between the ages of 30-39 years. Almost sixteen percent (15.5%) is between 40-49 years and 11.8 percent is (50 – 64) years. Significantly therefore, the data shows that about 72.7 percent of the labour force is below forty years.
Figure 8: Population Pyramid, by Age and Sex
90-94 Male Female
80-84
70-74
60-64
50-54
40-44
30-34
20-24
10-14
0-4
0
0
2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000
8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000
10,000 12,000
12,000 10,000 Population
Source: Ghana Statistical Service, 2010 Population and Housing Census
1.16.5 Dependency Ratio Figure 9shows a dependent population of 56,404 representing 48.3 percent of the Municipality’s population. On the other hand, the working population (15 – 64 years) account for 60,401 representing 51.7 percent of the total population in the Municipality. This implies that the Municipality has a large pool of working population that can contribute to the growth and development of the Municipality. It is therefore evident that for every one (1) working individual, there is approximately 1.1 dependent. Additionally, it can be observed the age dependency is higher among males (95.70/100) than among females (90.93/100). This implies that most males in the Municipality have more people depending on them compared to females.
Figure 9: Dependency Ratio 54 53 52 51
50 49 Dependent Pop. Percent 48 Working Pop. 47 46 45 44 Both Sexes Male Female Sex
Source: Ghana Statistical Service, 2010 Population and Housing Census
1.16.6 Fertility and Migration The Municipality’s population change (growth or decline) is the result of the interplay of fertility, mortality and migration. These three factors are influenced by the physical, socio-economic and cultural environment. Statistics on these three components are critical for planning the overall socio- economic development of the Municipality.
1.16.6.1 Fertility According to the 2010 Population and Housing Census, the Total Fertility Rate in the Krachi East Municipality for women aged 15-49 years is 4.3 births per woman. This means that a woman in the Municipality would have, on the average, 4.3 children (almost 5 children) in her lifetime.
1.16.6.2 Mortality The quality of life in the Municipality rests ultimately on the basic conditions which influence health, morbidity and mortality in the population. These factors include the biological makeup of the individuals, prevalence and severity of specific diseases, social, economic and environmental conditions as well as the availability, accessibility, affordability and utilization of health care facilities. Mortality refers to deaths that occur within a population. The probability of dying during a given time period is linked to many factors, such as age, sex, race, occupation, and economic status. The incidence of death can reveal much about a population’s standard of living and health care.
1.16.6.4 Migration Internal migration has played an important role in spatially redistributing the population of Ghana. Migrants tend to contribute directly to population decrease in the areas of origin or increase in the destination areas. Migration is also selective with regard to age, sex and therefore productive capacity. Thus, migration has significant demographic, social and economic impact on both the areas of origin and destination. According to the 2010 PHC out of a total number of migrants in the Municipality, 26,786 or 61.0 percent were born elsewhere in the region whereas 33.1 percent were born elsewhere in another region in Ghana. Further, about six percent (5.9%) of the migrants in the Municipality were born outside Ghana.
Figure 10: Place of birth of migrants in the Municipality 70 61 60 P e 50 r 40 33.1 c 30 e n 20 t 10 5.9
0 Born elsewhere in the region Born elsewhere in another Outside Ghana region Place of Birth
1.16.7 GENDER EQUALITY
Education Statistics from the Municipal Education Directorate points to the fact that enrolments in schools are skewed towards males with a gap of 6.5 percent. Further, it is evident that as female pupils progress on the academic ladder their enrolments consistently drop. Strategies need to be put in place to reverse the trend else it would impact negatively on the human resource of the Municipality.
Cultural Practices Historic gender roles among some ethnic groups impact negatively on development in the Municipality. Among these are the inability of women in some ethnic groups to own a house and farm. This practice impacts negatively on agricultural productivity and welfare enhancement.
1.16.8 SETTLEMENT SYSTEMS
1.16.8.1 Rural/Urban Split The rural/urban classification of localities is population based. This means that a settlement with a population size of 5000 or more is classified as urban and settlement with less than 5000 people is considered rural. Based on this classification, Krachi East Municipality is predominantly rural populated (68.1%) compared to the urban areas (31.9%). The Municipality’s capital, Dambai, Tokuroano and Pai-Katanga are the three urban settlements in the Municipality s.
1.16.8.2 Spatial Analysis (Hierarchy of Settlements) The distribution of settlements in the Municipality is dictated by some physical and economic factors including accessibility to socio-economic infrastructure and natural resource endowment. The hierarchy of services and infrastructure are interrelated to the growth and size of settlements. The bigger settlements tend to develop along the Dambai – Worawora highway. Naturally the size of a settlement tends to determine the level of services and infrastructure available. In the Municipality, some settlements with population lower than others perform higher functions. Dambai is the only settlement in the Municipality performing the highest level of functions. There is therefore high concentration of socio-economic infrastructure and services such as health, education, communication in Dambai. There is however least concentration of such facilities and services in the second and third levels of settlements in the Municipality. There is therefore the need to ensure even distribution of services and infrastructure in the other levels of settlements in order to: Ensure access to basic services and infrastructure; Curb the incidence of rural-urban migration. Table 8 below presents details of the scalogram analysis of the Municipality in terms of the major communities in the Municipality and the services and infrastructure availability. Table 2: Scalogram Analysis
Of Of
l
Community Population Kg Primary JHS SHS/Voc. College Herbalist Store Chemical Pharmacy Home Maternity Compound CHPS Centre Health Wel Dug Hand Borehole Water Piped Latrine Public Post Police Station Police Court Magistrate Fire Station Post Office Network Telecomm. Bank Market House Guest Restaurant Electricity Park Lorry Station Filling Office Ext. Nadmo Functions Of Total No. % A As Functions Functions Reported Rank Dambai 31,611 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 28 93.3 1 Anyabor No. 1 1032 1 1 1 1 1 5 16.7 11 Njare 819 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 20.0 9 Njare Kuchar 1 1 3.3 58 Binagma No. 2 0 0.0 101 Binagma No. 1 0 0.0 101 Wurubon No. 1 1 1 3.3 58 Wurubon No. 2 0 0.0 101 Tamanja 409 1 1 3.3 58 Alarmblow 0 0.0 101 Abongo No. 1 0 0.0 101 Mawuvi Kope 0 0.0 101 Sangore 624 1 1 2 6.7 39 Tekporkope 264 0 0.0 101 Tsaletsale 0 0.0 101 Yariga No. 1 450 1 1 2 6.7 39 Yariga No. 2 882 1 1 1 1 1 5 16.7 11 Pompi 139 1 1 3.3 58 Kwame Akura 896 1 1 1 1 1 5 16.7 11 Yabram 105 1 1 2 6.7 39 Anyabor No. 2 544 1 1 1 1 4 13.3 21 Chamba Akura 810 1 1 1 1 1 5 16.7 11 Yariga Newtown 1 1 2 6.7 39 Bosomfour Akura 1 1 2 6.7 39 Mepekope 321 1 1 1 1 1 5 16.7 11 Kudorkope 1021 1 1 1 1 4 13.3 21 Monkrate 476 1 1 3.3 58 Tumpuja 0 0.0 101 Kabre Akura 64 1 1 3.3 58 Ankra Akura 64 0 0.0 101 Charvukope 128 0 0.0 101 Komba Akura 0 0.0 101 Ntaja Akura 0 0.0 101 Tekpelekpedzi 0 0.0 101 Asukawkaw 4211 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 14 46.7 2 Pai-Katanga 5645 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 13 43.3 3 Okanease 678 1 1 1 1 1 5 16.7 11 Akokrowa 430 1 1 3.3 58 Zodanu 189 1 1 3.3 58 Dzogbekope 119 0 0.0 101 Nansu 777 1 1 2 6.7 39 Segekope Aflaokope Fantekope Adjeteykope Agbelitime (Davorkope) Avornyokope Doekope(Korsi Sokpolikope) (Anlokordzi, Agbesikope ElderAtsukope Mahemkope Atigagorme Kissekope BeposoNo. 3 BeposoNo. 2 BeposoNo. 1 Nyankonakope Danielkope Kpedorfe Matamanu Atakpamekope Duflikope Adonkwantatornu Dadoto Kpandokope Kplesu BawaAkura Adonkwanta MatamanuJunction Akpavekope KwabenaJani Akura TibisiAkura Bolokope Komikope Avikope Katanga tornu Agbokope Avunyrakope Torgakope Abrewankor Kotobrigya Mawoekpor
borko)
Community
1289 2341 713 452 223 312 481 667 385 969 858 385 291 392 377 465 795 456 407 66 29 11 96
Population
1 1
Kg
1 1 1 1 1 1
Primary
1 1
JHS
SHS/Voc.
College 1
Herbalist
Chemical Store
Pharmacy
Maternity Home 1
CHPS Compound
Health Centre
Hand Dug Well 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Borehole
1
Piped Water
Public Latrine
Police Post
Police Station
Magistrate Court
Fire Station
Post Office
Telecomm. Network
Bank 1 1 1
Market
Guest House
Restaurant 1 1 1 1 1
Electricity
Lorry Park
Filling Station
Ext. Office
Nadmo
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 4 2 3 2 5 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 2 1 0 Total No. Of Functions
13.3 13.3 10.0 16.7 Functions As A % Of 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.7 6.7 3.3 0.0 0.0 3.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.7 3.3 0.0 0.0 6.7 3.3 0.0 Reported Functions
101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 21 21 39 30 39 11 58 58 39 58 39 58 Rank
Dededo Atsisekope Oldtown Pai KofiMango Atafiem Adakope Tsaikope Kateykope Israelkope DonkorAkura Dogbevikope Abogyesekope Basare Amuzukope Doetsekope Gokukope Blakikope Soldierkope Bekpo Kekpodzi AdakopeMotorway Vukope Kolikope Alavanyo Torgbekope Lanklekope Mempeasem Kpogede Jerusalem Mangoase Galikope Amevlovikope Zigakope Vudogakope Sikape Napoa Kwame Sagba Akura Tailorkope Krachikope K.S. Kope Bokokope Zikpo Avekope AlhajiFulani
Community
1767 628 159 137 280 123 738 345 373 169 877 892 605 152 378 287 576 213 86 31 78 4
Population
Kg 1
Primary
JHS
SHS/Voc.
College 1
Herbalist
Chemical Store
Pharmacy
Maternity Home
CHPS Compound
Health Centre
Hand Dug Well 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Borehole
Piped Water
Public Latrine
Police Post
Police Station
Magistrate Court
Fire Station
Post Office
Telecomm. Network
Bank 1 1
Market
Guest House
Restaurant
Electricity
Lorry Park
Filling Station
Ext. Office
Nadmo
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total No. Of Functions
10.0 Functions As A % Of 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.7 6.7 3.3 3.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.3 0.0 3.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Reported Functions
101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 39 39 58 58 30 58 58 Rank
Asubin AyisuAkura KatafuaJunction Kunda Adumadum MelemaAkura Kadzasikope Atsigode Tsikatakope Village Napoa/Mariama Egborkope Akpasakope Adukpanchuro Betenase Bosomfour KwameGhanaAkura Abotanso AlhassanAkura Anyinase Dormabin AgodziAkura Ningo AyirafieBattor Tewokpo AgbasakopeNo. 2 AgbasakopeNo. 1 Afadakope Sokukope Tokuroano Betenase Atikpodokope Motorway Barnabaskope Tokpovia Kablikodzo Yaokpoekope Ativikope Adoboekope Kpodoave Allah(Adakope) Akwei Tsubikope Tumikope
-
Motorway
Community
1349 3934 6488 227 645 121 629 948 509 225 465 271 224 363 727 131 320 410 417 415 105 321 26 70 68 42 17
Population
1 1 1 1 1
Kg
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Primary
1 1 1 1 1 1
JHS
1
SHS/Voc.
College 1 1
Herbalist
1 1
Chemical Store
Pharmacy
Maternity Home 1 1
CHPS Compound
1 1
Health Centre
Hand Dug Well 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Borehole
1 1 1 1
Piped Water
1 1 1
Public Latrine
1
Police Post
Police Station
Magistrate Court
Fire Station
Post Office
Telecomm. Network
Bank 1 1 1 1
Market
Guest House
Restaurant 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Electricity
Lorry Park 1
Filling Station
1 1
Ext. Office
Nadmo 10 13 1 2 1 4 7 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 7 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total No. Of Functions
13.3 23.3 16.7 13.3 33.3 23.3 43.3 10.0 Functions As A % Of 3.3 6.7 3.3 0.0 0.0 3.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.3 0.0 3.3 0.0 0.0 3.3 0.0 0.0 6.7 3.3 3.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Reported Functions
101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 58 39 58 21 11 58 21 58 58 58 39 58 58 30 7 5 7 3 Rank
ChantaiAkura Akura TapornKomkomba Papaye Ayeremu TsokorsiAkura AbongoFulani Odumasi Adorkope Akura ToromedziTanor Akura Najamba/Fulani Alhaji Fefekope Okumah Chaintokrom SurveyorLine Akura KwadwoLoso TorgbeAkura AborkugyaAkura Kparekpare AbongoAkura Ataki NantwiAkura Ghanakpe Abofrakope AgbeAkura Sikele Atsonglokpo GyatoAkura Kpelema AtaraAkura KrachiAkura Bidi Nwane Katafua KundaJunction AbombaKwadwo Asukawkaw Adumadum Ekpamu Bumbusu
Akura
Community 2456 2218 1240 377 153 335 308 348 250 163 173 259 278 364 247 531 487 165 349 442 718 145 130 923 238 55 93 70 33 88 84
Population
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Kg
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Primary
1 1 1 1
JHS
SHS/Voc.
College 1
Herbalist
1
Chemical Store
Pharmacy
Maternity Home 1 1 1
CHPS Compound
Health Centre 1 1 1
Hand Dug Well
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Borehole
1 1 1
Piped Water
1 1
Public Latrine
Police Post
Police Station
Magistrate Court
Fire Station
Post Office
Telecomm. Network
Bank 1 1
Market
Guest House
Restaurant 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Electricity
Lorry Park
Filling Station 1
Ext. Office
Nadmo 10 1 2 3 4 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 2 1 4 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 6 0 1 4 5 0 1 5 0 0 1 Total No. Of Functions
10.0 13.3 33.3 13.3 10.0 10.0 20.0 13.3 16.7 16.7 Functions As A % Of 3.3 6.7 0.0 0.0 3.3 3.3 0.0 0.0 3.3 3.3 0.0 3.3 0.0 6.7 3.3 3.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.3 0.0 3.3 0.0 3.3 0.0 0.0 3.3 Reported Functions
101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 58 39 30 21 58 58 58 58 58 39 58 21 30 30 58 58 58 21 11 58 11 58 5 9 Rank
Score WeightedGeneral CentralIndex Totalof no. service IssakaAkura Kyeamekope NewAkatapori AdjeiAkura YawMensahAkura Nunkponu Yaborae Agordeke (Baninikope) Cement AzizakpoeNo. 2 AzizakpoeNo. 1 Kpogede Feokope BasariAkura Adakope NewKupaKorpe Ntsinitsini Adakponu KakrakaAkura Adiembra KotokujaniNo. 2 (BlikaAkura) KotokujaniNo. 1 JayonAkura KofieAkura DorbesoBeposo DorbesoAkura DorbesoJunction Kelentin Kpachiri
Community
1492 240 161 225 423 417 130 678 383 735 113 517 375 63 77 49 50 30 28
Population
3.85 100 26 1
Kg
100 2.08 48 1 1 1 1 1
Primary
100 5.26 19
JHS
100 25 4
SHS/Voc.
100 100 1
College
100 7.69 13
Herbalist
100 16.7 6
Chemical Store
100 100 1
Pharmacy
100 100 1
Maternity Home
100 12.5 8
CHPS Compound
100 20 5
Health Centre
100 33.3 3
Hand Dug Well
100 1.39 72 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Borehole
100 7.69 13
Piped Water
100 9.09 11 1
Public Latrine
100 33.3 3
Police Post
100 100 1
Police Station
100 100 1
Magistrate Court
100 100 1
Fire Station
100 100 1
Post Office
100 50 2
Telecomm. Network
100 50 2
Bank
100 6.67 15
Market
100 100 1
Guest House
100 100 1
Restaurant
100 2.56 39 1 1 1 1
Electricity
100 100 1
Lorry Park
100 50 2
Filling Station
100 16.7 6
Ext. Office
100 100 1
Nadmo
308 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 1 2 1 3
Total No. Of Functions
10.0 10.0 10.0 Functions As A % Of 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.3 3.3 0.0 6.7 0.0 0.0 3.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.7 3.3 0.0 3.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.3 6.7 3.3
Reported Functions
101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 101 58 58 39 58 39 58 58 30 30 58 39 58 30
Rank
1.16.9 Ethnicity and Language The major ethnic group in the Municipality is Ewe constituting about (37.1%) of the total population, followed by the Gurma (26.0%), Guan (Yeji, Nchumuru, Krachi, Nawuri, Bassa, Achode) (13.6%), Akan (9.6%), Ga-Dangme (7.9%), Mole-Dagbani (0.9%) and others forming (4.8%). Twi is the most spoken language in the Municipality capital whilst Ewe is spoken widely in the fishing communities which are dotted along the major rivers. Konkomba and Basare are also spoken in farming settlements in the Municipality. (Figure 11)
Figure 11: Population by Ethnicity
4.8 0.9 7.9 37.1 9.6 Ewe Gurma Guan Akan Ga-Dangme 13.6 Mole-Dagbani Others
26.0 Source: Ghana Statistical Service, 2010 Population and Housing Census
1.16.10 RELIGION Christianity is the major religion in the Municipality constituting about (65.4%) of the population, with Traditional African religion and Islam constituting 15.0 percent and 8.2 percent respectively. Other affiliations constitute (11.4%). High religious tolerance among the various religious groups has partly contributed to the existence of peace in the Municipality. (Figure 1.5).
Figure 12: Population by Religion
Population by Religion
11.4
8.2
Christianity Traditional
15 Islam Others
65.4
Source: Ghana Statistical Service, 2010 Population and Housing Census
1.16.11 Occupational Distribution of the Population Skilled agriculture, forestry and fishery constitute the largest occupational group (70.1%) indicating that eight out of every ten persons 15 years and older of the employed population are into agriculture.
Significant proportions of the employed persons are engaged in craft and related trades (13.9%) and (8.5%) of the employed are into service and sales. Professional workers constitute only 1.1 percent of the employed population 15 years and above.
Alternatively, only a small proportion of employed persons are in the technical and associated professionals (0.5%) and managerial categories (0.9%). Among both sexes, skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery work is the dominant occupation. There are more males in managerial and professional occupations (3.8%) than females (2.3%). On the other hand, the proportion of females engaged in services and sales workers (14.7%) is higher than that of males (2.8%).
Due to limited capital, and the lack of credit facilities, farming is still at a subsistence level.
Table 3: Employed population 15 years and older by occupation and sex
Both sexes Male Female Occupation Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Total 49,389 100.0 25,800 100.0 23,589 100.0 Managers 433 0.9 205 0.8 228 1.0 Professionals 1,064 2.2 767 3.0 297 1.3 Technicians and associate professionals 251 0.5 196 0.8 55 0.2 Clerical support workers 152 0.3 111 0.4 41 0.2 Service and sales workers 4,179 8.5 717 2.8 3,462 14.7 Skilled agricultural forestry and fishery workers 34,637 70.1 21,210 82.2 13,427 56.9 Craft and related trades workers 6,866 13.9 1,420 5.5 5,446 23.1 Plant and machine operators and assemblers 639 1.3 617 2.4 22 0.1 Elementary occupations 1,166 2.4 555 2.2 611 2.6 Other occupations 2 0.0 2 0.0 0 0.0 Source: Ghana Statistical Service, 2010 PHC
1.17 CULTURE The Nchumurus are the traditional custodians of the land making up the Municipality. They are part of the Guans that speak a similar language as the Krachi. They pay allegiance to a paramountcy situated at Burae. The Burae chief is the traditional leader of the indigenes and rules the entire Municipality with support from sub-chiefs (Odikro) who reside in the communities acting on his behalf. These chiefs are usually appointed by him. The Nchumurus are traditionally farmers who reside in the larger communities like Dambai and Tokuroano. They are further divided into clans with recognized clan heads. These heads play various roles in mobilizing their people for special functions. There is high communal spirit among members of a particular clan in occasions such as funeral performance but the same is yet to be seen in terms of communal labour on self-help projects.
Ethnic diversity in the Municipality unlike other areas does not pose threat to peace and security as each group sees the other as neighbours. This is largely due to the ease with which productive resources such as land is easily acquired without any restriction and the receptive and hospitable nature of the Nchumurus.
Major celebrations that bring the people from all the country to their traditional homes include funerals and festivals such as yam festival. These celebrations could be used to raise funds to support major development efforts in the Municipality. They also contain beautiful events which when well documented and disseminated could attract tourist from all over the world. The traditional knowledge of the local people includes weaving (nets, fans, mats etc), pottery and hunting.
1.18 MUNICIPAL’S ECONOMY A formidable micro economy of the Municipality is vital for the reduction of extreme poverty. This section is therefore devoted to the analysis of the structure of the Municipality’s economy, household income and expenditure patterns as well as revenue and expenditure status, economic infrastructure and commodity export.
1.18.1 Structure of the Local Economy The economy of the Municipality is dominated by agriculture with commerce and industrial sectors least developed even though some efforts are made towards building the capacities of the local entrepreneurs.
1.18.1.1 Agriculture Agriculture is the main occupation of the people in the Municipality employing 69.8 (2010 PHC report) percent of its labour force; this reduced the previous figure by 13.2 percent. This is an indication of people moving from agriculture to services. The sector consists of crop farmers, fishermen, and livestock keepers. Farming in the area however is still at a primary stage of development characterized by the use of simple equipment like cutlasses and hoes. Farming is not yet mechanized in the Municipality. Although the Municipality has large expanse of water resources, people still practice rain fed agriculture because of the absence of irrigation equipment coupled with limited knowledge on irrigation development.
1.18.1.1.1 Cropping pattern The Municipality experiences both bi-modal and uni-modal rainfall pattern. The stretch from Asukawkaw to Dormabin is bi-modal and from Kpelema to Dambai is uni-modal. The varying regimes affect the cropping pattern of the Municipality. Two major cropping modules namely mixed and mono-cropping are in practice. The main crops grown in the Municipality include yam, cassava, maize, rice, and groundnut. Mixed cropping is a common feature among the farmers in the Municipality. This is largely due to the fact that crops grown are suitable to be inter-cropped with others. For instance yams planted in mounds are inter-cropped with maize or cassava, rice is also inter-cropped with millet, cowpea and/or groundnuts. The advantages associated with mixed cropping as obtained from the farmers was that it provided the singular opportunity for the two crops to be harvested on the same piece of land during the same season and also serves as security against total loss of yield due to pest of disease infestation of any one crop.This system is also known by the experts to be boosting soil fertility since nitrogen for instance can be infused into the soil for use by maize if inter-cropped with groundnut.
1.18.1.1.2 Industrial Crops The cultivation of industrial or cash crops in the Municipality is on a small scale. The principal industrial crops grown in the Municipality include oil palm, sugar cane, soya beans, groundnuts, mangoes and tomatoes. Cocoa is also grown on a limited scale around Asukawkaw (Okanease) and Nkabom Zones.
1.18.1.1.3 Export Crops The major export crops are cocoa and yam. The Municipality has a credible record of being a net exporter of tubers such as yam and cassava which are mostly facilitated by middlemen. Government also buys the cocoa through its marketing agency (Cocoa Board). Cereals such as maize, rice, soya beans are also exported on a limited scale to other Districts and surrounding regions including Greater Accra.
1.18.1.1.4 Farm Inputs and Services Almost all the farmers in the Municipality use hoes and cutlasses for their farming activities. These tools are labour-intensive and less efficient and not suitable for large scale farming. Tractor service in the Municipality is low and only accessible to the few that can meet the cost. Bullock plough is not a common phenomenon in the Municipality even though potentials exist for its development. Farmers gradually are getting used to improved inputs due to the presence of the Agricultural Extension Service Officers. The major challenges facing the farmers include but not limited to non availability of farm inputs, high cost, lack of knowledge about their presence or use. The farmers also lack knowledge on the use of alternative soil nutrients such as organic matter that equally enriches the soil and less expensive and environmentally friendly. The extension agent to farmer ratio in the Municipality is 1:10,000.This is lower than the national ratio of 1:1400 as at 2004 as against a target of 1:1200. This is to say that the Municipality’s extension service coverage is not satisfactory and therefore steps need to be taken to strengthen the extension staff in terms of number, logistics and training.
1.18.1.1.5 Farming Methods The main farming methods practiced in the Municipality are Zero tillage, slash and burn, ploughing and hoeing. Other methods include mixed farming, mixed cropping and crop rotation.
1.18.1.1.5 Farm Size Farming in the Municipality is largely on small scale with average farm holding of about 4 acres per annum. This means farming is still on subsistence level even though there is large arable expanse of land for cultivation. It was revealed in the survey that communities in the Volta river resettlement areas have limited farm lands of about 3 acres per household and no expansion of farm size could be possible within such settlements. The inability of such settlements to expand their farm sizes beyond three (3) acres could undermine farming on commercial scale. Moreover, most of the arable lands are covered with trees which needs to stumped for cropping to be carried out on a large scale but due to the inability of farmers’ to carry out this exercise, they are compelled to crop on areas free of stumps; this further reduces the farm sizes.
1.18.1.1.6 Land Acquisition for Farming Land in the Municipality is owned by clans and families. Households in the Volta River Authority resettlement communities are allocated with fixed plots of farmlands (3 acres). Land for farming can only be acquired by farmers who are not members of a clan or families through consultations with the heads of clans or families. However, clan or family members can have access to land for cultivation without any payment/financial arrangement.
1.18.1.1.7 Farm Capital About 98% of the farmers in the Municipality finance their farming activities through their personal savings (own savings).Savings however, are usually meager in the Municipality and this is a major limiting factor hindering the growth of farming in the Municipality.2% of the farmers obtain credit from relatives, friends or private money lenders to finance their farming activities.There exist one commercial bank and two rural banks at Dambai but farmers do not obtain loan from the banks partly because they lack collateral securities.
1.18.1.1.8 Farm Labour Most farmers in the Municipality use family labour mostly for clearing of sites, preparing yam mounds, planting of crops, weeding and harvesting of crops. The use of family labour for farming activities has serious implications on other sectors of the economy especially on education. It is a common phenomenon that school children are withdrawn from schools to serve as farm labourers. To curtail this, therefore, efforts need to be made aimed at shifting the over reliance on the use of hoes and cutlasses which is labour intensive and demanding the use of more people, to a more capital intensive and efficient means of cultivation such as the use of machinery and other techniques of farming that demand less labour.
1.18.1.1.9 Crop Storage, Processing and Marketing Farmers store their produce in locally made structures often referred to as bans. Alternatively, some farmers store their farm produce in rooms selected for the purpose; also some farmers prefer storage in the farms.
Silos were constructed at Dormabin in 1992 by the Food Distribution Agency to reduce post- harvest losses and improve storage but the facility is not in use because it is not functional.
1.18.1.1.10 Challenges of Crop farming High prevalence of pest and diseases e.g. army worm, rice rust, cassava mosaic, rice blast etc. Low levels of modern farming technologies – tractor, power tillers etc Limited access to tractor services for timely land preparation Difficulty in land acquisition Low access to improved planting materials Resistance of pests to agro-chemicals Destruction of crops by cattle Lack of labour for farm work Taboos Limited capital for expansion of farm sizes Over reliance on rain fed agriculture Low access to agricultural extension services Insufficient storage facilities Bush fires and thefts Unprofitable prices of agricultural produce Lack of agro processing Industries
1.18.1.1.11 Recommendation (Crop farming Sub-sector) Provision of sufficient storage facilities. More agro processing industries should be established Campaigns against bush fires should be intensified Linking local markets with national and international markets
1.18.1.1.12 Livestock and Poultry It is a common phenomenon in the Municipality that, all households in the Municipality keep live stock or poultry mostly on free range. The Municipality is blessed with large expanse of pastoral land. Inhabitants interested in cattle rearing take advantage of this to keep large numbers of cattle. This has attracted pastoral Fulanis with their large kraals of cattle into the Municipality. Other types of animals such as goats, pigs and sheep are also reared on a limited scale. Also exotic and local fowls, guinea fowls, ducks etc. for commercial purposes are now emerging.
1.18.1.1.13 Development Implications of livestock rearing It has the potential to reduce poverty in the Municipality. It promotes vibrant meat industry. It enhances revenue generation in the Municipality. Expansion of market activities
1.18.1.1.14 Challenges of Livestock Rearing High prevalence of diseases including but not limited to: new castle disease, foot rot, CBPP (Contagious BovanPleu-Pneumonia, Tuberculosis, Trypanonaniais, Snake bite, PPR (Pet de Petty Ruminant), Diarrhoae, Mange or skin disease, African Swine Fever Low access to veterinary services Lack of proper housing Constant conflict between livestock and crop farmers Prevalence of pilfering of livestock
1.18.1.1.15 Fishing Fishing is an important agricultural activity in the Municipality. Settlers along the water bodies are mainly fisher folks who harvest various types of fresh water fish. Most of the fishermen use canoes for fishing, and a considerable number of them depend on hired labour to assist in the work. The table below shows the type of fish harvested in the Municipality and the corresponding season of bumper harvest.
Table 4: Type of fish harvested in the Municipality
Type of fish Period of harvest Implements used Tilapia All year round Fishing nets, Hooks &Fish traps Mud fish June to November Fishing nets, Hooks &Fish traps Tug fish June to November Fishing nets, Hooks &Fish traps
1.18.1.1.16 Fish Storage and Processing Usually the fish is processed as smoked and salted fish which can be stored for significantly long time and can easily be transported to other markets both within and outside the Municipality. The fish market in the Municipality is vibrant attracting people from other Districts.
1.18.1.1.17 Challenges of fishing Lack of storage facilities Lack of improved equipment High rate of perishability Use of unauthorized equipment and chemicals Fishing in unauthorized areas
1.18.1.1.18 Irrigation Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall.
Agriculture in the Krachi East Municipality is strictly rain fed even though there is abundance of water resources in the Municipality. The presence of the Volta Lake, Asukawkaw River and seasonal streams are potentials that the Municipality could harness for irrigation purposes. In the absence of irrigation schemes, farmers, however, resort to the use of pumping machines to irrigate their farms.
1.18.1.1.19 Importance of Irrigation Promotion of all year round farming leading to food security Increase in the income level of farmers Source of employment
Figure 13: Agricultural Products Produced in the Municipality
1.18.1.2 Commerce and Industry This sector employs about 23.7 percent of the Municipality’s labour force. The sector is least developed and dominated by petty traders, kiosk owners, and transport owners. Commercial activities are enhanced by periodic markets that are scattered all over the Municipality.
1.18.1.2.1 Market Infrastructure Most market infrastructure in Municipality consist of the physical place where periodic buying and selling takes place and sheds constructed from wood and roofed with thatch. There is only one large market in the Municipality located at Dambai which has improved infrastructure (stalls and few stores).Other markets are located at Asukawkaw, Dormabin, Dadoto, Kparekpare, Matamanu, Tokuroano, Ayirafie Battor, Katanga, Bidikope and Njare. Market days are periodic and specific days of the week are selected for each of the markets. In some communities periodic markets are held under trees. The problem of inadequate market infrastructure is further compounded by the inaccessibility to these especially during rainy seasons.Most of the feeder roads linking farming communities to the market centres become impassable in the rainy seasons and this phenomenon hinders trading activities during this season.
Since these market centres constitute the major sources of revenue to the Municipal Assembly, the Assembly needs to put in place strategies to ensure conducive conduct of business in the aforementioned markets through support infrastructure.
Figure 14: Location of Market Centres
1.18.1.3 Industrial Sector Industrial activities are largely on small scale and characterized by over reliance on indigenous knowledge and resources. Family ownership and use of labour intensive technology are some of the basic features of this sector. Major small scale industrial activities engaged in by the people include wood carving, pottery, carpentry and cassava processing, as well as tailoring, and batik tie- dye inter alia. Using the type of raw materials as a criterion, Small Scale Industries can be grouped into the following categories as contained in the table 11.
Table 5: Types of Small Scale Industries S/ Number of Industries by Gender Category of Small Scale Industry N Ownership M F Total 1 FARM-BASED BUSINESSES 79 16 95 Poultry/Guinea Fowl Rearing 36 7 43 Grasscutter Rearing 3 0 3 Beekeeping 18 5 23 Piggery 8 2 10 Fish Farming 14 2 16 2 AGRO-PROCESSING BUSINESSES 70 1419 1489 Cassava Processing 50 538 588 Fish Processing 10 612 622 Pito Brewing - 205 205 Oil Palm Processing 10 38 48 Soya Beans Processing - 14 14 Groundnut Processing - 12 12 3 AGRO-INDUSTRIAL BUSINESSES 13 77 90 Soap and Detergents Making 10 25 35 Baking and Confectionery 3 52 55 4 TRADITIONAL CRAFT BUSINESSES 59 10 69 Batik Tie and Dye 3 10 13 Bamboo Products 1 - 1 Leather Works 28 - 28 Smock Making 5 - 5 Kente Weaving 22 - 22 PRIMARY FABRICATION AND 5 606 5 611 REPAIR Capentry 257 - 257 Masonary 195 - 195 Welding 47 - 47 Fitting (Auto Mechanics) 60 - 60 Electronic (Radio/TV/Computer) 22 - 22 Others 25 5 30 6 TRADING 532 582 1114 GRAND TOTAL 1359 2109 3468 Source:MunicipalBAC, 2017
Table 6: Category of Industry by Sex
S/ Category of Small Scale Industry Number of Industries by Gender N Ownership M F Total 1 Start-ups 224 436 660 2 Survival 504 913 1417 3 Normal Growth 600 740 1340 4 Rapid Growth 6 10 16 GRAND TOTAL 1334 2099 3433
Most of industries in the Municipality are operated by the owners themselves with about 1-5 people being apprentices. Most of the owners of the industries had little or no formal education and/or training and rely largely on indigenous knowledge and experience which does not easily allow for dynamism or adoption of new ideas.
Production
The methods of production are mainly manual for 52.3 percent of the industries and 47.7 percent for those who use machines. The machines used in this sector are rudimentary and less efficient. Various sources of energy are used to enhance production in this sector among these are: fire wood for distilleries, gari processing and breweries; electricity for metal works, tailoring and hair dressing. Others include diesel fuel and petrol for milling, fishing etc. Wood-based energy sources are slow and have adverse effects on the environment. Petroleum sources are very expensive. Electricity sources are characterized by frequent power outages. The combined effects of the various energy sources reveals a pattern of instability in production and this leads to low productivity.
1.18.1.3.1 Marketing of Produce About 73.8 percent of produce are sold within the settlements and of this 73.4 percent are sold by the producers within their working sites. Nineteen percent are sold in the local markets while only about 7.6 percent are sold directly to traders. Out of the total sales 21.5 percent are sold within the Municipality and 4.7 percent are sold outside the Municipality. This shows that in terms of marketing products there are very weak linkages within the Municipality and worse still outside the Municipality.(BAC, 2017)
1.18.1.3.2 General Problems of Small Scale Industries Inadequate working capital. Lack of training centres (Rural Technology Facility), an industrial site for artisans, batik tie and dye making centre, kente weaving centre, cassava processing centre etc. Fishing, one of the major economic activities is faced with problems especially the use of crude gears and dangerous chemicals. The youth and young adults especially graduate apprentices/youth in crop farming/fishing and animal rearing lack basic tools and equipment/start-up kits to start their business or sustain their businesses.
1.18.1.3.3 Recommendations MSEs/Farmers, Local Business Associations etc should be given financial support to promote their business. The establishment of training centres and facilities is very crucial. Fisher folds should be trained in aqua culture skills. Tools and equipment as well as start-up kits should be furnished the youth, young adults and graduate apprentices to enable them establish their business and create jobs.
1.19 DISTRICT FINANCE This section of the plan deals with the analysis of revenue of the Municipality from 2015- 2016.This is to assess the performance of various revenue and expenditure components. It is intended to inform the recommendations to be made in order to improve the performance of the Municipality’s finance. It further analyses key areas in both revenue that will require prompt attention if substantial financial allocations from the Municipality’s own resources to new development projects are to be made.
Table 7: Municipal Revenue Source from 2015-2016
REVENUE HEADS 2015 2016 AMOUNT AMOUNT Internal Sources % % Rates 9,299.20 1.59 5,090.00 1.04 Lands & Royalties 111,567.00 19.13 18,158.00 3.69 Rents Of Land Building & Houses 20,921.70 3.59 36,530.00 7.43 Licenses 26,669.00 4.57 63,855.62 12.99 Market Tolls 402,691.50 69.03 363,327.20 73.93 Fines, Penalties & Forefeits 8,151.00 1.40 3,067.01 0.62 Miscellaneous &Unidentified Revenue 4,021.70 0.69 1,410.00 0.29 Sub-Total 583,321.1 100.00 491,437.83 100.00
From the above table it is clear that market tolls contributed significantly to the Internally Generated Revenue. It contributes about 69.03 percent in 2015 and 73.39 percent in 2016. It worth mentioning that the revenue generated from the market tolls in the Municipality is mainly from the Dambai market. The other markets contribute insignificantly to the fund. Performance is expected to increase if monitoring is intensified and attention giving to the other satellite markets. This underscores the importance of markets in the Municipality’s Development as a major source of revenue. In spite of the encouraging performance of market tolls significant issues need to be addressed if it is to remain the major contributor:
Poor development of market infrastructure Inadequate trained revenue collectors Poor supervision and monitoring of revenue collectors Inconsistent task force
The major source of funds to the Municipality is from external sources. The most important of these to the financing of capital projects in the Municipality is the District Assemblies’ Common Fund and the District Development Fund (DDF). This implies that the timely and sustainable disbursement of the District Development Fund and the District Assemblies’ Common Funds are key factors in the development of the Municipality.
1.20 TOURISM This sector is the least developed in the Municipality although potentials exist for the growth of the sector. This is partly due to the lack of initiatives from both the private and public sectors towards the development of existing potentials. Some of the potentials that have been identified for subsequent development include:
Lake Volta A river confluence at Akrokrowa Adumadum -Asubin Waterfalls A rock pedestal at Napoa A potential game reserve at Katanga etc. Kudorkope beach Pontoon The development of these potentials in the Municipality is constrained by lack of funds. The immediate development of the these potentials coupled with the provision of good access roads and the provision of support infrastructure such as rest houses and spots will to a large extent contribute to the development of the area.
1.21 GOVERNANCE
1.21.1 Traditional System of Governance This describes the established structures and processes which promote and guide development in the Municipality. There are two main systems of governance in the Municipality. These are the traditional system with established chiefs and/or queen mothers representing communities and/or clans. The Municipality traditional governance is led by the paramount Chief, Nana KrachiWura, who is resident at Krachi and over sees all the communities in the Municipality. He, however, has appointed representatives in communities all over the Municipality. Directly below the representatives are the elders and Queen mothers. Also significant in the hierarchy are Clan Heads and family elders. The next in the hierarchy are opinion leaders who mostly represent various interest groups in the communities. These people play various roles in the management of development projects and fostering peaceful co-existence in the various communities.
1.21.2 Institutional Framework for Local Governance The various legal frameworks which guide local development in Ghana includes: the Civil Service Law, 1993 (PNDC Law, 327), the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) etc..These enactments place emphasis on MMDAs in order to reinforce the attainment of total decentralization and participatory development.
According to the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) all District Assemblies are to submit District Development Plans to the Regional Coordinating Councils which will intend harmonise the plans with the national development policies and priorities for consideration and approval by the National Development Planning Commission.
There is therefore a vertical relationship among the National Development Planning Commission at the National level, Regional Planning Coordinating Council at the Regional level and the District Assembly at the District level. The figure below shows the New Local Government Structure.
Figure 15: Municipal Departmental Organogram MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENTAL ORGANOGRAM (FUNCTIONAL)
MCE
MCD
Internal MPCU(MPO = Secretary) Audit PAU (Public Affairs Unit)
Admin, Planning & Social Sector Infrastructure Economic Sector Environmental Sector Financial Sector Budget Sectors Sector
Central Education, SW & District Works Physical Trade, Industry Agric Disaster Natural Finance Administra Youth & CD Health Dept. Planning & Tourism Dept. Prevention Resources Dept. tion Dept. Sports Dept. Dept. Dept. Dept. Dept. Dept. Conservation
Records Building Water Feeder NADMO SW CD Fire Treasury Revenue Levies Estate section Section Roads Coop Industry Tourism Section Section Section Section Mobilization (Works & R. Section Section Section Section Transport Housing)
Logistics Internal Refugee T&CP P&G Disaster Section Procurement Section Section DMOH Environ Section Health HR Mgt. Crop Agric Library Education R. Birth & Services Engineering Forestry Game Administr section Section Death Section Section Section & ation Section Animal Health Wildlife Store Youth Food & Section Sports and Production Section Nutrition Agric Fisheries Planning Section Section Extension Section Budget & Section rating Non- Basic Formal MIS Education Education Unit Unit Figure 16: The Local Government Structure
1.21.3 The Municipal Assembly as a Planning Machinery Krachi East Municipal Assembly is the highest Political and Administrative body in the Municipality. The Assembly is made up of Thirty (30) Member General Assembly consisting of Twenty one (21) elected members, nine (9) government appointees. The Municipal Chief Executive and the Member of Parliament are ex – officio members.
The General Assembly has both deliberative and executive functions presided over by the Presiding Member who is elected by at least two-thirds of the members of the General Assembly from among themselves. The Assembly works through its Executive Committee with seven members and the Municipal Chief Executive as its chairman. The Executive Committee operates through the following sub-committees:
Development Planning Sub-committee Works Sub-committee Finance and Administration Sub-committee Justice and Security Sub-committee Social Services Sub-committee Micro and Small-scale Enterprises Sub-committee
These sub-committees have the responsibility of discussing specific issues of Municipal interest within their domain. The recommendations from the various sub-committees are submitted to the Executive Committee for consideration. Very important issues are picked up for the attention of the General Assembly.
The day-to-day administration of the Municipality that is working on the resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly is a responsibility of the Central Administration. This consists of the Core staffs of the Municipal Assembly under the leadership of the Municipal Coordinating Director. There is an established Municipal Planning and Coordinating Unit (MPCU) consisting but not limited to the following: the Municipal Coordinating Director as its chairperson, the key staff of the Municipal Assembly and Heads of Departments including, Health, Education, Social Welfare and Community Development and Social Welfare, Agriculture, and a representative of the General Assembly that provide technical services. The figure shows an organogram of the Municipal Assembly:
Figure 17: Organogram of the Krachi East Municipal Assembly
MA
Public Relations and Complaints Secretary to GA (MCD) Committee (PM)
(MCE) Executive Committee
FRA Sub - Development Social Services Works Sub Justice and Security Others Committee Planning Sub - Sub Committee Committee Sub Committee Committee
Financial Sector / Economic Sector / Social Sector Depts. Infrastructure Depts. Prosecutions /
Central Environmental Depts. Enforcement MPCU Administration Depts.
Education, SW & Municipal Youth & CO Health Sports Dept. Works Physical Planning Finance Central Trade & Disaster Natural Administration Industry Management Resource Conservation
Agriculture
1.21.4 Sub-District Structures The sub-structures are instrumental in local level development. The Krachi East Municipality has three (3) Zonal Councils namely Dambai, Nkabom and Asukawkaw, and Unit Committees. These sub-district structures have established staff and are responsible for development activities at the grass root level. The map below shows the Sub-district structures in the Municipality.
Figure 18: Map showing the sub-structures in Krachi East Municipality 1.21.5 Problems of Municipal Administration The main problems of the Municipal Administration machinery include the following:
Inadequate staff accommodation Inadequate logistics Lack of incentives for workers Poor revenue generation Inadequate office accommodation Inadequate staff strength Poor level of integration of decentralized departments into the Municipal Assembly System
A number of decentralized departments are yet to be established in the Municipality including:
Trade and Industry Department Natural Resource Conservation Department, Game and Wild Life Division Birth and Death Department
1.21.6 Peace, Security and Justice The Municipality has established a Police Station at Dambai with detached Units at Tokuroano and Katanga. The police personnel maintain law and order in the various communities. There is a magistrate court which handles cases in the Municipality. The Municipality has also started a circuit court construction and when completed will be the higher court in the Municipality. The establishment of a magistrate court has ensured dispensation of justice in the Municipality. To complement the efforts of the police in maintaining law and order, the Municipality receives the services of mobile military personnel occasionally from the detachment at Kete-Krachi. The major security problems in the Municipality include the activities of Fulani Herdsmen, leadership problems in terms of the multi ethnic nature of the Municipality’s population which lack clear or established structures or hierarchy.
1.21.7 Non-Governmental Organizations The Municipality’s Development efforts are being complemented by a number of Non- Governmental Organizations. Among these are:
World Vision Ghana (Krachi East ADP) Afram Plains Development Organization/WaterAid Royal Health Organisation These organisations offer useful services in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Health, Financial Management, capacity building, Education inter alia.
1.22 SOCIAL SERVICES This section of the plan is an analysis of the existing social services such as education, health, communication, housing, water and sanitation among others.
1.22.1 EDUCATION Improvement in the Educational sector is paramount to the development district as it is the main determinant of the nature and calibre of its human resource. The Municipality is striving hard to improve on the quality of teaching and learning, however, very little has been achieved.
Table 8: Enrollment at the various levels within the Sector
KINDERGARTEN: ACCESS
2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2016/17 INDICATOR Actual Actual Actual Target Actual Total number of pupils in all KG in the 6831 7136 7210 6500 6325 Municipality Total number of female pupils 3509 3741 3659 4000 3191 Total number of male pupils 3322 3395 3551 4000 3134 Number of pupils in public kindergartens 6251 6411 6451 6485 5633 Number of pupils in private kindergartens 580 725 759 750 692 Gross Enrolment Rate 88.6% 89.2% 88.5% 90.0% 71.9% Female Gross Enrolment Rate 87.3% 93.2% 87.8% 90.0% 73.3% Male Gross Enrolment Rate 90.0% 85.2% 89.2% 90.0% 73.3% Gender Parity Index (GPI) on GER 0.97 1.09 0.98 1 0.96 Net Enrolment Rate (NER) 67.1% 59.1% 57.3% 70.0% 67.9%
KINDERGARTEN: QUALITY
2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2016/17 INDICATOR Actual Actual Actual Target Actual Number of teachers in all schools 99 127 145 230 185 Total number of teachers in public schools 88 112 128 200 155 Total number of trained teachers in public KGs 37 46 70 120 99 Total number of trained teachers in private KGs 0 0 2 8 0 Percentage of trained teachers in public KGs 42.0% 41.1% 54.7% 70.0% 63.9% Pupil Teacher Ratio 69:1 56:1 50:1 30:1 36:1 Pupil Teacher Ratio in public kindergartens 69:1 56:1 50:1 30:1 36:1 Pupil Teacher Ratio in private kindergartens 53:1 48:1 45:1 35:1 52:1 Pupil Trained Teacher Ratio (PTTR) 185:1 155:1 100:1 45:1 63:1
KINDERGARTEN: PHYSICAL
INDICATOR 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2016/17 Actual Actual Actual Target Actual Number of public kindergarten in the Municipality 63 72 74 78 74 Number of private kindergarten in the Municipality 7 8 9 13 11 Percentage of classrooms in public in public KGs 15% 4% 29% 5% 22% needing major repairs
PRIMARY: ACCESS
INDICATOR 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2016/17 Actual Actual Actual Target Actual Total number of pupils in all primary school 14980 15501 15815 15850 15527 Total number of female pupil in all primary school 7275 7517 7728 7850 7153 Total number of male pupil in all primary school 7705 7986 8087 8000 7374 Number of pupils in public schools 13622 13921 13644 1500 13838 Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) 71.6% 71.0% 74.5% 85.0% 72.8% Male Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) 75.7% 73.3% 76.1% 80.0% 73.7% Female Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) 67.8% 68.7% 72.9% 75.0% 71.9% Gender Parity Index (GPI) on Gross Enrolment 0.89 0.94 0.96 1 0.98 Rate Net Enrolment Rate (NER) 62.4% 59.9% 63.7% 70.0% 65.2%
PRIMARY: QUALITY
INDICATOR 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2016/17 Actual Actual Actual Target Actual Total number of teachers in all primary schools in 326 383 411 500 448 the Municipality Total number of teachers in public primary schools 287 342 364 450 392 in the Municipality Total number of trained teachers in public primary 204 243 270 330 309 schools Percentage of trained teachers in private schools 5.1% 4.9% 8.5% 10.0% 0.0% Percentage of trained teachers in public schools 71.1% 71.1% 74.2% 80.0% 78.8% Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) in public primary 47:1 41:1 37:1 35:1 36:1 schools Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) in private primary 35:1 39:1 46:1 35:1 30:1 schools Number of public primary school with functioning 59 68 70 74 71 school management committee Number of public primary school with school 61 71 72 74 72 performance improvement plan (SPIP).
PRIMARY: PHYSICAL
INDICATOR 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2016/17 Actual Actual Actual Target Actual Total number of public primary schools 63 72 74 78 75 Total number of private primary 7 8 9 13 11 schools Percentage of public primary schools 60% 76% 65.10% 97% 78% with toilet facilities Number of public primary schools with 38 70 70 72 58 toilet facilities Percentage of public primary schools 25% 48% 41% 65% 35% with potable water Number of public primary schools with 16 35 30 50 26 potable water Total number of classrooms in public 341 375 341 360 350 schools Number of classrooms in public schools 28 15 20 5 21 needing major repairs Number of classrooms schools needing 30 21 22 5 27 minor repairs. JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL: ACCESS
INDICATOR 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2016/17 Actual Actual Actual Target Actual Total number of students in all JHS 4504 4702 4752 4700 4410 schools Total number of female students 1894 1945 2126 2250 1995 Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) 50.1% 50.2% 51.5% 55.1% 47.1% Female Gross Enrolment Rate (FGER) 42.1% 42.8% 46.8% 50.0% 43.4% Male Gross Enrolment Rate (FGER) 58.1% 57.2% 56.0% 60.0% 50.7% Gender Parity Index (GPI) on GER 0.72 0.75 0.84 1.01 0.86 JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL: QUALITY
INDICATOR 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2016/17 Actual Actual Actual Target Actual Total number of teachers in public JHS 162 180 218 250 226 schools in the Municipality Total number of trained teachers in 145 159 192 230 205 public JHS schools Percentage of trained teachers in public 89.5% 88.3% 88.0% 95.0% 90.7% JHS schools. Percentage of trained teachers in private 6.5% 6.7% 10.3% 12.0% 5.7% JHS schools Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) in public 25:1 23:1 21:1 20:1 17:1 JHS schools Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) in private 14:1 19:1 23:1 20:1 14:1 JHS schools Percentage of public JHS schools with 89.0% 87.0% 87.0% 97.0% 88.2% functioning schools (SMCs) Number of public JHS schools with 24 26 27 34 28 functioning school (SMCs) Percentage of public JHS schools with 100.0% 73.0% 98.0% 100.0% 100.0% school performance plan (SPIP)
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL: PHYSICAL
INDICATOR 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2016/17 Actual Actual Actual Target Actual Total number of public JHS schools 27 30 31 36 37 Total number of class rooms in public 76 79 84 96 87 JHS schools Percentage of public JHS schools with 67.0% 65.0% 76.0% 100.0% 88.0% toilet facilities Number of public JHS schools with 18 20 24 34 30 toilet facilities Percentage of public JHS schools with 56.0% 50.0% 68.0% 95.0% 74.0% potable water Number of public JHS schools with 15 15 21 34 25 potable water Number of public JHS schools with 0 0 0 0 NIL workshop How many JHS have tools and 0 0 0 0 0 equipment Percentage of public JHS classrooms 20 15 15 10 23 needing major repairs Number of public JHS classrooms 55 21 20 15 42 needing minor repairs Number of public JHS schools with 4 4 4 10 4 computers
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL: ACCESS
INDICATOR 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2016/17 Actual Actual Actual Target Actual Number of all secondary schools 2 3 4 6 6 Number of all public secondary schools 2 2 2 4 3 Number of male students in all SHS 1965 1417 1304 1250 1441 schools Number of female students in all SHS 825 715 631 750 671 schools Number of students in public SHS 1794 1961 1644 1500 1988 schools Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) 27.0% 26.0% 25.0% 50.0% 20.8% Female Gross Enrolment Rate (FGER) 21.0% 18.0% 17.1% 30.0% 17.6% Gender Parity Index (GPI) 0.6 0.54 0.53 0.9 0.74 Number of laboratories with equipment 2 2 2 3 2 in public SHS school. Number of laboratories without 2 2 2 3 1 equipment in public SHS school. Number of public secondary schools 2 2 2 2 2 with computer
STUDENT –TEACHER RATIO: KRACHI EAST DISTRICT LEVEL SCHOOL NUMBER OF TEACHERS TOTAL RATIO ENROLMENT TRAINED UNTRAINED KG 6325 99 73 172 36:1 Primary 15527 309 139 448 34:1 JHS 4410 207 77 284 16:1 SHS 2112 122 24 141 14:1 TERTIARY N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
STUDENT –TEACHER RATIO: PUBLIC SCHOOLS
LEVEL SCHOOL NUMBER OF TEACHERS TOTAL RATIO ENROLMENT TRAINED UNTRAINED KG 5041 99 56 155 33:1 Primary 1236 309 83 392 32:1 JHS 3925 205 21 226 17:1 SHS 1988 114 10 116 16:1 TERTIARY N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
1.22.1.2 School Infrastructure There are a number of on-going school building projects in the Municipality. These projects are funded by DDF and GETFund. With the increasing number of school children of school going age coupled with the number of unfavourable classroom blocks, there is the need for more interventions to be implemented. Supporting facilities like furniture and equipment are still inadequate and in some cases completely lacking.
The Municipal Education Directorate is responsible to ensure the development of the sector. This is done through effective supervision. The Municipality is divided into circuits and each is assigned with a supervisor. The directorate is working hard to ensure improvement in the performance of the pupils but very little is realised. This can be attributed to the following:
Inadequate trained teachers Inadequate logistics (vehicles and motorbikes) Inadequate staff
Due to low incomes of parents, most school children go to school without books to write in and attend school without money for lunch. The introduction of the Ghana School Feeding Programme which is covering twelve schools across the Municipality is encouraging children of school going age to go to school. The evidence is reflected in the school enrolment in the beneficiary schools. The issue of school dropout is still pending in the Krachi East Municipality. This can be associated to the following factors: Generally the challenges facing the Municipality regarding education are but not limited to the following:
Inadequate teaching and learning materials Inadequate furniture Low staff strength Inadequate accommodation for teachers Inadequate trained teachers Inadequate school infrastructure Lack of support facilities eg. Science laboratories, workshops for technical students, computer laboratories Poor condition of existing school facilities Inability of parents to pay school fees Early marriages Child labour Peer group pressures
The maps below show the spatial distribution of schools in the Municipality.
Figure 19: Location of Kindergartens
Figure 20: Location of Primary Schools
Figure 21: Location of Junior High Schools
Figure 22: Location of Senior High Schools/Vocational and College
1.22.2 HEALTH Health is one of the important sectors in the Municipality. The Municipality has two systems of health services delivery – the orthodox and the traditional systems. These systems play complementary roles in the delivery of health services. The orthodox system has both private and public health service providers. The private ones include the EP clinic, and the IPC including a number of drug store owners.
A prime problem militating against access to proper health care in the Municipality is poor staff strength and absence of adequate health facilities.
Table 9: Municipal Health Staff Strength
No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Designation present present present present required required required required in 2013 in 2014 in 2015 in 2016 Doctor 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 Medical Assistant 2 3 1 4 1 4 2 3 Midwives 4 11 4 11 4 11 6 9 Comm. Health Nurses 38 25 42 22 32 30 35 20 Enrolled Nurses 5 5 10 5 8 12 8 12 Field Technicians 4 6 5 5 5 5 3 7 Dispensing Assistants 2 8 3 7 2 8 2 8 Health/Ward Assistants 4 6 4 6 4 6 4 6 Lab. Technician 0 5 1 4 1 4 0 5 Recorders/Biostat Assist. 2 8 2 8 2 8 2 8
Table 10: Health Facilities and Personnel
Type of health facility Location Personnel at post Dambai Health Centre Dambai Junction 15 Dan Moser (E.P.) Health Centre Dambai Cannan 10 Tokuroano Health Centre Tokuroano 7 Dormabin Health Centre Dormabin 6 Asukawkaw CHPS Asukawkaw 3 Katanga Health Centre Katanga 10 Adumadum CHPS Adumadum 2 Nyuitor CHPS Dambai Zongo 9 Njare CHPS Njare 3 Matamanu CHPS Matamanu 2 Kpelema CHPS Kpelema 3 Kparekpare CHPS Kparekpare 4 Ayeremu CHPS Ayiremu 2 Yariga CHPS Yariga No. 2 2 Source: Municipal Health Directorate Database, 2017
Figure 23: Location of Health Facilities
1.22.2.1 Challenges Even though the facilities are available, it is not without the following difficulties:
Inadequate personnel Lack of means of transport to the health centers Lack of logistics e.g. (deep freezers for storage of medicines, etc) Lack of electricity
The list of major diseases in the district ranked according to prevalence includes:
Table 11: List of major diseases by prevalence
Ranking Diseases Cases Percentage (%) 1 Malaria 44783 38.0 2 Anaemia 12537 10.6 3 Other (ARI) 11570 9.8 4 Diarrhea diseases 9271 7.8 5 Intestinal worms and parasites 8977 7.6 6 Skin diseases and ulcers 3330 2.8 7 Hypertension 1288 1.1 8 Typhoid/enteric fever 617 0.5 9 Vaginal discharge 502 0.4 10 Acute urinary tract infections 271 0.2 11 All other diseases 16904 14.3 Source: Municipal Health Directorate Database, 2017
1.22.2.2 Strategies to reduce rate diseases Update knowledge of CBSV and CBAs in the communities Intensify school health education Continuous distribution of LLIN in the communities and ANC clinics Organise community durbars on health education Intensify health education at service delivery points
1.22.2.3 HIV/AIDS AND STIs The prevalence rate increased from 0.23% in 2016 to 0.3% in 2017. However, it reduced from 6.89% percent in 2016 to 6.5% in 2017 among pregnant women.
The following prevention and control measures have been taken:
Updated knowledge of CBSV and CBAs on HIV and STI in the communities. School health education. Education/counseling of mothers and pregnant women on HIV/STI in the communities and during ANC clinics. Home visits in the communities. Community durbars on health education. Health education at health delivery points. Positive clients are referred to Worawora hospital for Anti-Retroviral therapy treatment. Follow up client to counsel them on the disease and encourage them on drug compliance. Several malnourished clients are given special food (maisory forte) from the MHD. Clients are educated on positive measures on the disease. The Municipal Health Directorate supports some clients with T&T to Worawora hospital for collection of ART drugs.
Table 12: Prevalence/Incidence of HIV, Malaria and Guinea worm
INDICATOR 2013 2014 2015 2016 HIV prevalence and incidence 0.004% 0.003% 0.02% 0.03% Opportunistic infection and STI 622 823 911 637 Dambai Dambai Dambai Dambai High risk and transmission area (s) /Katanga /Katanga /Katanga /Katanga Incidence of malaria 14.9% 36.9% 40.7% 35.6% Incidence of Guinea Worm 0 0 0 0 Source: Krachi East Municipal Health Directorate, 2017
From table 18 apart from the year 2013, HIV prevalence and incidence saw a consistent increase from 0.0003 percent in 2011 to 0.03 percent in 2016. Also opportunistic infection consistently increased in 2013 until in 2016 where there is an insignificant reduction. The table further shows that the high transmission areas of HIV are Dambai and Katanga. Measures therefore have to be put in place to stem the increasing trend.
Incidence of malaria increased from 14.9 percent in 2013 to 40.7 percent in 2015. There is however a reduction in 2016 where the incidence is 35.6 percent. It is obvious that effort put in place by the Municipal Assembly to dramatically reduce the incidence of malaria is not having a significant impact. The Municipal Assembly in collaboration with other non-governmental organisation therefore needs to step up efforts in order to ensure a reduction of the incidence of malaria to a barest minimum.
It is apparent that efforts put in place by the Municipal Assembly to eliminate Guinea Worm infestations have yielded the desired results. 1.22.2.4 Infant and maternal mortality The Municipal Health Directorate could not track any record on infant and maternal mortality due to the fact that there is no hospital in the Municipality where deliveries can take place.
1.22.2.5 Alternative Health Service Delivery (traditional System) The Traditional Medical system serves as an alternative health care system in the Municipality. The system offers treatment in specialized areas for about 25 percent of the population especially those in the rural areas. Specialized areas of treatment include: bone setting, snake bites, stomach upsets, and general conditions of ill health. Mode of treatment include: consultations of spirits to diagnose condition and identify appropriate herbs, administering of drugs prepared from herbs and the use of talisman by practitioners to cure and drive away evil spirits that are suspected to be the cause of a particular ailment. The survey identified a limited number of traditional medical practitioners operating in the district is indicated in table 19.
Table 13: Traditional Medical Practitioners & Their Areas of Specialisation
COMMUNITY NUMBER OF AREA(S) OF PRACTITIONERS SPECIALISATION Kunda 2 General Delivery Dadoto 1 General Okanease 1 General Katanga 1 General Nanso 1 General Kparekpare 1 General Tokuroano 2 Bone setting General ChambaAkura 2 Snake bite General Kwame Akura 1 Snake bite Anyabor No.2 1 Snake bite Asukawkaw 2 General Kpogede 1 Snake bite Wankayaw 1 Bone setting
A focus group discussion with a cross section of the practitioners revealed that the system used to be a very vibrant one but its role is gradually declining due to certain ill-feeling people have developed about the system. The practitioners alleged that certain religious leaders discourage their followers from patronising the system, associating it with “evil”. This behaviour enforces the development of negative perception about the system in the Municipality. Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) also play critical roles in delivering health services in the absence of adequate health staff in the Municipality.
The health sector is besieged with a number of problems. Among them are:
Inadequate health personnel Lack of a district hospital Inadequate accommodation for health personnel Inadequate logistics Inadequate health facilities
1.22.2.4 NUTRITION
1.22.2.4.1 Nutrition Surveillance System Nutritional surveillance system strives to improve nutrition, reduce the risk of inadequate nutrition, educate caregivers, and produce early detection and referral for conditions manifested by growth disorders. Monthly growth monitoring, weights of children <5 years were measured against their ages in months to know if children are healthy and growing normally or underweight. Severe underweight rate has reduced positively from 99 in 2014 to 011 in 2016.Moderate underweight rate also recorded improvement from 189 in 2014 to 630 children in 2016. Normal weight continued to be increase significantly from 2154 in 2014 to 4309 in 2016.Improvement in nutrition is indispensable in ensuring improved school performance as well as productivity
Table 14: Nutrition information on weight dimensions in children under 5 years
UNDERWEIGHT NORMAL WEIGHT DISTRICT SEVERE MODERATE 2014 2015 2016 2014 2015 2016 2014 2015 2016 DISTRICT 2154 2209 4309 99 79 11 189 209 630
1.22.2.4.2 Challenges with the nutrition programme in the Municipality Lack of time on the part of mothers to attend to the nutrition needs of their children as most mothers engage in economic activities and return late to their homes. Ignorance on the part of mothers when it comes to nutritional needs of children. Large family sizes makesit impossible for the provision of adequate nutrition for family members including children. Poverty on the part of families thereby making it difficult for parents to afford the nutritional need s of parents. Low iodated salt utilization level 1.22.2.5 SANITATION
1.22.2.5.1 Liquid Waste management Collection of liquid waste from public, institutional and household latrines is usually carried out by private entities. The Assembly, however, does not have a cesspool emptier which impacts negatively on liquid waste management. The percentage of the population currently having access to improved toilet is 14.8 as indicate in table 21 which is woefully inadequate.
1.22.2.5.2 Solid waste management The general sanitation situation in the Municipality leaves much to be desired. Solid waste management in the Municipality is carried out by Zoomlion Ghana Limited together with the Assembly. Zoomlion has a skip container for refuse collection but its frequent breakdown is a challenge in the management of solid waste in the Municipality. There is the need for more skips to facilitate the proper management of solid waste in the Municipality. There is only one approved final refuse disposal site at Yariga No. 2 which is about 14km from Dambai. All other communities in the Municipality have no approved sites for solid waste disposal. They dump refuse indiscriminately. Only Dambai has a limited number of refuse containers for refuse disposal.
Table 15: Toilet Facilities and Coverage in the Municipality
No Type Of Facility Quantity Pop. Served % Of Pop. Served 1 Public latrine 25 3750 2.7 2 Institutional latrine 91 27300 19.9 3 Household latrine 2005 20050 14.6 4 Water closet 226 2260 0.2 5 Municipal coverage 17.5 Source: Environmental Health Unit, 2017
Table 16: Number of sanitary facilities by type in the Municipality
AQUA PUBLIC TOILET W.C KVIP VIP PIT STL 2014 2015 2016 2017 PRIVY Dambai Zonal Council 3 7 1 1129 2 2 931 1054 1098 1144 Nkabom Zonal Council 0 4 3 1279 0 4 965 1123 1174 1250 Asukawkaw Zonal 0 1 3 811 1 13 586 662 788 834 Council TOTAL 3 12 7 3219 3 19 2482 2839 3060 3228 Dambai Zonal Council 91 365 34 564 0 0 1195 1246 1285 1365 5 51 Nkabom Zonal Council 65 328 637 0 0 1286 1324 1357 1542 2 Asukawkaw Zonal 23 70 218 403 0 0 849 890 896 928 Council 7 TOTAL 226 911 1094 4783 0 0 3330 3440 3538 3835 Source: Environmental Health Unit, 2017
Figure 24: Location of Public Latrines
There are no sewage systems for disposing liquid waste as such; most of the people therefore resort to throwing their liquid waste around the surroundings of their houses and in gullies created by the erosion.These wastes get collected in these gullies and serve as the major grounds for the breeding of mosquitoes and other harmful insects that pose serious health hazards to the people.
1.22.2.5.3 Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) The sanitation strategy being implemented in the Municipality is the CLTS with support from World Vision, Afram Plains Development Organisation and Global Communities. This strategy involves engaging communities to eliminate open defecation and adopt appropriate hygiene and sanitation practices. Some characteristics of CLTS are the use of local materials and innovations to construct low cost and durable latrine models, community-innovated systems of reward, penalty, spread and scaling-up through incremental strategy. In a summary, CLTS includes a range of activities targeted at:
Ending open defecation by promoting household ownership of latrines. Promoting hand washing with soap practices Promoting the treatment of water before use. Provision of Sanitation and Hand washing facilities in schools, as well as educating and imparting values on good hygiene practices to children to serve as change agents
Currently, 8 communities have been declared ODF Basic and more communities have been rolled onto the programmed.
1.23 HOUSING Housing is an important component of every Municipality’s infrastructure, for it does not only depict the state of the infrastructural development of every town/settlement in the Municipality but also forms an important source of accommodation for the inhabitants.
1.23.1 Housing Ownership Type About 70.6% of the houses in the Municipality are owner occupied, 19.7% are rented houses and the remaining 9.7% being rent-free, perching, squatting and others. This implies that rent is not a significant source of income in the Municipality. (2010 Population and Housing Census)
1.23.2 Constructional Materials The main material for outer walls in the Municipality is mud /mud brick or earth. Table 23 indicates that, 74.4 percent of dwelling units had their outer walls constructed with mud bricks or earth while 20.3 percent had their outer walls constructed with cement blocks/concrete. Only 1.2 percent of dwellings had their outer walls constructed with wood. Less than four percent of outer walls are constructed using (metal sheet/slate/asbestos, stone, burnt bricks, landcrete, bamboo, palm leaf/ thatch/raffia and other).
The table further shows that, in 2010, the use of mud brick/earth for outer wall was higher in rural areas (81.4%) than urban areas (59.1%). Similarly, the use of wood for outer wall is a little higher in rural (1.2%) than urban localities (1.1%). Conversely, the percent of cement blocks/ concrete is higher in urban (33.9%) than rural localities (13.9%).
Table 17:Main construction material for outer wall of dwelling unit by type of locality Municipality Total Total Urban Rural Material for Outer wall country Region N % % % Total 5,817,607 550,006 24,198 100.0 100.0 100.0 Mud brick/Earth 1,991,540 264,357 17,995 74.4 59.1 81.4 Wood 200,594 4,900 280 1.2 1.1 1.2 Metal sheet/Slate/Asbestos 43,708 3,131 111 0.5 0.5 0.4 Stone 11,330 1,172 18 0.1 0.1 0.0 Burnt bricks 38,237 3,183 57 0.2 0.1 0.3 Cement blocks/Concrete 3,342,462 250,762 4,908 20.3 33.9 13.9 Landcrete 104,270 7,772 662 2.7 4.8 1.8 Bamboo 8,206 819 12 0.0 0.0 0.1 Palm leaf/Thatch (grass)/Raffia 38,054 11,454 93 0.4 0.0 0.6 Other 39,206 2,456 62 0.3 0.2 0.3 Source: Ghana Statistical Service, 2010 Population and Housing Census
1.23.2 Roofing Materials In 2010, 58.5 percent of dwellings in the Municipality were roofed with metal sheets. The next main materials used for roofing was Thatch/Palm leaf or Raffia (38.1%). Less than one percent of roofs were made of tiles, Slate/Asbestos, bamboo and concrete. Dwelling units were hardly roofed with either bamboo or slate (0.2%) and roofing tiles (0.1%).
Similarly, the Table below shows that, in 2010, Metal sheets were the main materials for roofing in both urban and rural centres accounting for 89.7 and 44.0 percent respectively. However the use of thatch/palm leaf or raffia for roofing is higher in rural areas accounting for 52.0 percent whereas in the urban areas it is only 8.1 percent.
Table 18: Main construction material for roofing of dwelling unit by type of locality
Municipality Total Total Urban Rural Main Roofing material country Region N % % % Total 5,817,607 550,006 24,198 100.0 100.0 100.0 Mud/Mud bricks/Earth 80,644 3,576 326 1.3 0.4 1.8 Wood 45,547 3,000 162 0.7 0.4 0.8 Metal sheet 4,152,259 388,664 14,150 58.5 89.7 44.0 Slate/Asbestos 759,039 41,055 43 0.2 0.2 0.1 Cement/Concrete 141,072 4,810 69 0.3 0.3 0.3 Roofing tile 31,456 1,603 17 0.1 0.0 0.1 Bamboo 71,049 1,254 54 0.2 0.1 0.3 Thatch/Palm leaf or Raffia 500,606 102,769 9,213 38.1 8.1 52.0 Other 35,935 3,275 164 0.7 0.8 0.6 Source: Ghana Statistical Service, 2010 Population and Housing Census
1.23.3 Household Facilities
1.23.3.1 Toilet facilities Out of a total 22,289 households in the Municipality, 45.8 percent have no toilet facilities and rather use the beaches, bushes or fields as their places of convenience according to the Table below. This may hygienically not be a good practice for the health of the people. About six percent of the households use KVIP, 19.5 pit latrine and less than four percent use Bucket/Pan and other toilet facilities. In addition, 27.5 percent use the public toilets and less than one percent of households use W.C. in the Municipality.
For those who do not have any toilet facilities in the households, rural areas recorded 59.8 percent which is higher than the 16.3 percent recorded for urban areas.
1.24 TELECOMMUNICATION The role of communication in the Municipality’s development cannot be over emphasized as it is the major medium of social, cultural, economic and spatial integration – an effective mechanism for socio-economic development through information dissemination. This sector, however, is least developed in the Municipality. Communication in the Municipality is developing steadily, with the presence of MTN, Tigo, and Vodafone networks. According to the 2010 Population and Housing Census, about 22 percent of the population 12 years and above own mobile phones constituting 65.2 percent males and 34.8 percent females. Internet facilities are not popular as only 0.6 percent of the population uses it constituting 76.6 percent males and 23.4 percent females. Postal services are, however, ineffective. The presence of these telecommunication companies has generated employment opportunities for people in the Municipality.
Television reception in the Municipality is about the worst in the Region. Individuals need to put up outside antennas before they could receive signals from Kete-Krachi.
1.25 ELECTRICITY/ENERGY With electricity, only 53 communities out of about 236 have been connected to the national grid. And these communities that are connected are mostly found or close to the main trunk road from Dambai to Worawora. Very few communities have solar lights.
Other sources of energy in the Municipality are fuel wood, LPG etc. Potentials however exist for the exploitation of other energy sources such as wind and biogas. The Assembly is expected to partner the private sector to harness these potentials in order to complement the existing sources. The Assembly, through the Energy Ministry, has over the years distributed solar lamps to the Island communities in the Municipality; however, this means is unsustainable.
1.27 Banking Services The Municipality is serviced by one (1) Commercial Bank, GCB and two (2) Rural Banks namely Asubonten and North Volta. There are also a number of micro financial institutions that provide credit facilities to the general public. The existence of these financial institutions is expected to make access to capital easy for the development of SMEs and other economic activities.
1.28 HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY The hospitality industry has improved considerably with the development of Guest houses. Some of the facilities in the Municipality are Bosatsu Lodge and Restaurant, Janerst Guest House, Endless Guest House, Peace and Love Guest House, all located in Dambai.
1.29 TRANSPORTATION
1.29.1 Roads Roads constitute an important part of the Municipality built environment. The Municipality is spanned by a total of 65km of trunk road (from Asukawkaw to Dambai), 212km feeder roads and 56km community access roads. The current state of most roads in the Municipality leaves much to be desired. There are extensive pot holes on them thereby reducing their ability to support any effective transportation in the Municipality. This situation increases travel time. In the rainy seasons most of the community access roads become impassable.
1.29.2 River Transportation River transportation is a major form of transport in the Municipality especially for the Island and peninsular communities. About 57% of the Municipality’s settlements are located close to the major rivers. Accessibility to these settlements by road is very low due to the absence of feeder roads. These communities, however, are important communities in the production of food and fish. The large volumes of fish and foodstuffs are therefore transported by canoes and engine boats. Similarly, large cargo trucks that convey food items from the northern part of the country through Dambai have to be crossed by a ferry owned by the Volta Lake Transport Company. The major rivers, however, have a lot of stumps that pose danger to this system of transportation.
1.30 VULNERABILITY ANALYSIS This section is an analysis of fundamental issues of vulnerability in relation to its causal factors as well as its relation to some sections of the population such as women, children, persons with disabilities, HIV positive persons, the extreme poor and the destitute.
Vulnerability refers to the inability to withstand the effects of a hostile environment. The Municipality abounds with a number of factors that predispose its population to issues such as food insecurity, child abuse, child trafficking/child labour, HIV/AIDS etc.
1.30.1 Food Insecurity The Krachi East Municipality is self-sufficient because it is an agricultural Municipality and majority of the population are engaged in production of food crops like maize, cassava, rice etc. and rearing of poultry and livestock.
However, some of the factors that are threat to food security are as follow:
Drought Bush fires Floods Wind storms Climate variability
The following early warning systems usually caution the populace:
Dry vegetation: usually starts from November to February. The months of April, May and June are mostly characterized by wind storms. The months of August and September are mostly flood seasons for lake side communities especially low lying areas. The services of the Meteorological Department of Ghana.
Also, inability to implement and enforce adequately the laws lead to depletion of the natural forest and the abuse of water bodies and water species contributing to food insecurity in the Municipality. Residents are adamant of the laws.
1.30.1.1 Coping Mechanism Fire belts are usually created in/around farmlands and residences. Community members assist victims to reestablish. Government interventions (NADMO) and other organisations.
In respect of floods, gutters and drains should be desilted to allow free passage of running water. Further, structures on water ways should be removed.
1.30.1.2 Challenges of Disaster Management Inadequate afforestation programme to serve as a wind break. Lack of tools and other incentives for disaster volunteer groups (DVG’s). Lack of equipment and capacity to detect the direction of winds. Inadequate communication systems.
1.30.3 Child Abuse The issue of child abuse is quite common in the Municipality as some parents neglect their children thereby leaving them with no option than to fend for themselves by selling in the markets, fishing in the waters and involvement in other activities. The inability of the Municipality Assembly to protect the rights of the children could have dire some consequences on the socio-economic development of the Municipality. 1.30.4 Child Trafficking and Child Labour Child trafficking and for that matter child labour is predominant in the lake side communities of the Municipality. Children are brought from other Districts to work for the fishermen, and also some children in the Municipality are denied the opportunity to attend school as they are engaged in economic activities. These problems if not addressed could cause serious human resource issues in the Municipality.
1.30.5 Orphans Traditionally children are expected to inherit the property of their parents when they are no more. All cultures accept this, even though the practices differ from one culture to the other. The worrying aspect of inheritance is that, some elderly relatives of the orphans usually take over the property and deny the orphans their due. This most at times leave these children unsupported thereby curtailing their chances of being in school. There is therefore the need to create opportunities for these groups of children like instituting scholarship schemes so they can realize their educational dreams otherwise they would become a burden on the Municipality in future and that could impede socio-economic development.
1.30.6 Persons with Disabilities (PWD’s) Disability exists in varied forms in the Municipality. Some of the common challenges include but not limited to walking impairment, visual impairment, hearing impairment, speech impairment etc.
The enforcement of the three percent (3%) Common Fund allocation for PLWDs has improved the lots of the group in the Municipality.
Available Resources
The Municipality has a number of potentials which when effectively exploited could generate a lot of revenue for the Municipality development. The existing resources in the Municipality include:
Human resources (unskilled and limited skilled labour). Arable land for agricultural development. Forest resources including timber species such as Odum, Sapele, Wawa, Mahogany, Bamboo etc. Sand, gravel, pebbles, etc. (for the construction industry). Rivers and streams for irrigation purposes with large stock of fish. Availability of tubers and grains (for agro-based industrial Development). This will also ensure food security. Sufficient pasture for livestock rearing and possible creation of meat industry. Tourism sites (not developed).