DEMOGRAPHY

The Birim South district is one of the 33 MMDAS in the Eastern Region established under LI 2369 when Achiase District was carved out of it in 2018. Akim Swedru is the district capital, there are 72 communities with cottages/hamlets scattered across the district. The district covers an estimated land area of 299.9km2. It shares boundaries with Birim Central in the North-east, Akyemansa to the North, Achiase to the South and Central Region to the West.

Vision, Mission, Motto and Functions of the District Assembly

 Vision

A world class local government institution promoting well-being and total peace.

Mission

The Birim South District exist to improve the living standards of its citizens through sustainable socio-economic development and effective institutions that are responsive to the needs of people.

Motto

Prosperity in Freedom.

Core Values

The following are the core values of the Birim South District Assembly:

  • Transparency and Accountability
  • Client-oriented
  • Creativity and Innovativeness
  • Diligence and Discipline
  • Equity and Integrity
  • Timeliness

 Functions

The Assembly performs function conferred on District Assemblies by Local Governance Act 2016, Act 936 and LI 2371 that establishes. According the Act, the District Assembly shall:

  • exercise political and administrative authority in the district;
  • promote local economic development; andprovide guidance, give direction to and supervise other administrative authorities in the district as may be prescribed by law.
  • be responsible for the overall development of the district;
  • formulate and execute plans, programmes and strategies for the effective mobilization of the resources necessary for the overall development of the district;
  • promote and support productive activity and social development in the district and remove any obstacles to initiative and development;
  • initiate programmes for the development of basic infrastructure and provide municipal works and services in the district;
  • be responsible for the development, improvement and management of human settlements and the environment in the district;
  • A District Assembly shall take the steps and measures that are necessary and expedient to execute approved development plans for the district;
  • guide, encourage and support sub-district local structures, public agencies and local communities to perform their functions in the execution of approved development plans;
  • initiate and encourage joint participation with other persons or bodies to execute approved development plans;
  • promote or encourage other persons or bodies to undertake projects under approved development plans; and
  • monitor the execution of projects under approved development plans and assess and evaluate their impact on the development of the district and national economy in accordance with government policy.

Relief and Drainage

The district is mostly undulating and hilly and lies within the semi-deciduous forest zone. The underlying rock formation is mainly made up of the upper Birimian rocks.  These rocks consist predominantly of volcanic lava, schist, hyalites and greywacke with; minor granite intrusions and normally gives rise to salty clay soil without course materials.  The topography of Birim South District is hilly, consisting of lava flows and schist which in some cases rise to 61 meters above sea level. Hyalite (silica) and greywacke (hardened sandstone) areas have low relief and experience relatively low rainfall.

 

The district is drained by the Birim River.  Its major tributaries include Funso, Apetesu, Asikasu, Ahonfra, Akwassua, Nsuta, Adim, Tropea and Kasawere.  Even though greater part of the Birim River system in the district is permanent, it is not put to much use.  It can be harnessed to serve as a source of pipe borne water supply to serve most of the communities near-by and for agricultural purposes especially in the dry season.

 

Climate

The district falls within the wet semi-equatorial climatic zone which experiences substantial amount of precipitation/rainfall. Annually rainfall is between 150cm and 200cm reaching its maximum during the two peak periods of May to June and September-October. This promotes intensive farming activities within these two periods i.e., May to June and September to October. The relative humidity is about 56 percent in the dry season and 70 percent in the raining season. The temperature ranges from of 25.2˚C and 27.5˚C. The undulating nature of the topography occasionally results to flooding in some communities during the peak period of the rainy season. There is the need for the district to build capacity of the National Disaster Management Organization to enhance disaster response to disaster.

 

 

Population Distribution and Demography

The current population of the district is 58,672 (projected from 2010 Population, 119,767).

Sex disaggregation of the population in the district follows both the national and regional trends, where females out number males. Females represent 51.6 percent of the population against 48.4 percent males. The sex ratio in the district is 93.8 implying that to every 100 females there are 94 males. The urban sex ratio is 89 and rural is 98 to every 100 females respectively.

 

Population size by locality of residence by district, region and sex ratio

District/ Sex All Localities Urban Rural
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
Total 58,672 100 – – – –
Male 28,454 48.5 – – – –
Female 30,218 51.5 33,814 57.6 24,858 42.4
Sex Ratio 93.8 89.1 98.4

Source: Source: Projected from 2010 population and Housing Census

 

 

Population Density

The district has a population density of 200 persons per square kilometre, which indicates that thedistrict has registered an increase in population density over the years rising from 177.7 persons per square kilometre in 2010. The table below shows projected population density for the next four years.

 

Years 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
 Population     59,904   61,162   62,447   63,758   65,097
Pop Density 200 204 208 213 217

 

 

 

Projected Population of the District

 

Migration (Emigration and Immigration)

As at 2010, the total population of migrants in the district was 10,900. (GSS, 2010) Migrants in the district are made of persons from the eastern region and other regions and persons from outside Ghana.  The proportion of migrants from the Brong-Ahafo (22.7%) and migrants outside Ghana (19.5%) are the highest for migrants who stayed in the district for 5-9 years. The Upper West recorded the lowest (8.9%) proportion of migrants in the same time period.

 

The movement of persons into the district could be attributed to both push factors the place of origin and pull factors from the district. The pull factors in the Birim South district could be favourable economic, social, political, environmental, and cultural conditions. The pattern of movement shows that in less than 9 years 58 percent of all migrants entered the district. This suggests that the influx of persons into the district has been increasing in recent times.

 

Culture and Ethnicity

The Akan ethnic group is the highest in the district. Figure 1.13 shows that majority of Ghanaians in the district are Akans, numbering 46,889 (88%). The second most popular ethnic group in the district is Ewe with a population of 2,398 (4.5%) followed by Ga-Adangbe 1,545 (2.9%) then Guan (2.4%). Ethnic groups from the northern part of the country and others constitute less than 2.5 percent of the population. The district is heterogeneous in terms of ethnicity and the greater proportion of the migrants tribes have lived in a peaceful co-existence, a pre-requisite for development.

The district falls under Bosome Traditional Council, Odwira is a festival celebrated by the Bosome traditional council.

There are 3 major section the district, majority of the inhabitants’ form Christian religion; Islamic and Traditional religions constitute the minority in the district. These structures could be used effectively in the dissemination of information in the district.

 

 

 

Governance

Birim South District Assembly (BSDA) is the highest political, administrative and policy making body of the district representing the entire political and administrative machinery of the Central Government at the local level. The Assembly has a political head who is a District Chief Executive, 14 Assembly members of which two-thirds are elected by universal adult suffrage and one-third appointed by the President in consultation with chiefs and interest groups in the district. The two members of parliament in the district, as well as District heads of decentralized departments are ex-officio members. A presiding member, elected from among their rank, chairs the Assembly.

 

The Local Government system mandates decentralized departments to perform functions that were previously performed by the Central Government. They are responsible to the Assembly and provide technical advice to facilitate the deliberations of the District Assembly, through the District Coordinating Director, who is the administrative head of the office of the District Assembly. To ensure grass root participation in governance, the district has been divided into one Area Council that is Swedru area councils. This area council is however not active because of low capacity in terms office space and equipment. The district assembly is yet to cede revenue items to the council.

 

Security Situation in the District

The District Assembly has District Security committee (DISEC) which is made up of all the security institutions in the district namely the Police Service, the Military, the Fire Service and the Immigration Service. The main role of this committee is to ensure that at every point in time there is adequate security in the district to ensure peace and development. The Security committees at times invite potential conflict groups to meet and resolve issues through dialog.

These notwithstanding there are increasing incidence of chieftaincy dispute in the major communities in the district such as AkyemSwedru. These disputes have negative implication for development. The DISEC has put measures in place to resolve these conflicts amicably to ensure that conflicts do not hinder the development efforts of the district.

 

District Police Service

There is one police station in the district. Thisis located at AkyemSwedru being the District Command.The collaboration between the police office enhances efficient control of crime in the district. The number of personnel required in the district given the population is 272, however, there are 23 officers currently stationed in the district. The shortage of staff makes mobility to promote law and maintaining order in the district very difficult.

The district does not have Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU) and therefore collaborate with the WAJU in the Birim Central Municipal on related issues. The district does not have neighbourhood “watchdog” groups.   The absence of these departments implies a high degree of vulnerability for women and children as well as general insecurity.

 

 

 

The Police Service faces several challenges and these include:

  • Inadequate office logistics and infrastructure
  • Inadequate personnel and
  • Lack of accommodation for personnel

 

District Fire Service

The Fire Service in the Achiase District oversees the Birim South District. The number of offices however required for the efficient provision of services by the Department is two (2). The fire service collaborates with the NADMO to prevent disaster. The required number of personnel for the district is 37, however, only five (5) are currently at post.

In terms of logistics, the Fire Service has one (1) Fire Tender (FS 442) and other firefighting tools. The service however requires the following logistics to enhance its operation in the district:

  • Computer and Accessories (i.e. printer a photocopy machine)
  • Road traffic Coalition extrication tools
  • Stationary

 

 

The District Fire Service faces the following challenges

  • Harassment of firemen during fire outbreaks by inhabitants of communities
  • Lack of maintenance culture
  • Non-compliance of fire safety regulations by institutions
  • Inhabitants do not pay heed to fire preventive measures advocated for by the service
  • Absence of firefighting equipment and logistics
  • Inadequate staff
  • ack of fire hydrants

 

Map of Birim South District in National and Regional Context