Audio:
Introduction
The Ga South Municipal Assembly is one of the newly created Assemblies in the Greater Accra Region with it's capital being Ngleshie Amanfro. The Assembly was established by a Legislative Instrument (2316). It was created to further enhance and facilitate grassroots decision making and development through effective administration and development planning. It was officially inaugurated on Thursday 15th March, 2018.
Ga South Municipal Assembly (Ngleshie Amanfro) has since become one of the Two Hundred and Fifty-Four (254) Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana and among the twenty-Six (26) MMDAs in the Greater Accra Region. It was carved from the then old Ga South Municipal Assembly (Weija) in November 2017. The Municipal Assembly currently has 2 Zonal Councils (Domeabra and Obom) which operate below the Assembly structure.
The General Assembly including the Municipal Chief Executive has a membership of Thirty (30) comprising Nineteen (19) Elected Members, Eight (8) Government Appointees, 2 Members of Parliament (Ngleshie Amanfro-Bortianor and Obom-Domeabra Constituencies). The Municipal Chief Executive who was appointed by the President and approved by the General Assembly happens to be the political head of the entire Municipality while the Municipal Coordinating Director is the administrative head.
Vision
A well-managed city of excellence for service delivery for citizens and business prosperity.
Mission
“The Ga South Municipal Assembly exist to provide an effective and efficient service delivery to ensure quality and dignified life for all citizens and business through balanced and excellent delivery of socio-economic policies within the context of good local governance”
Core Values
The Assembly has adapted the following core values as part of it mandate to ensure successful implementation of the Medium Term Development Plan (2018-2021);
- Excellence
- Smartness
- Proactiveness
- Respect
- Team Work
Physical and Natural Environment
The Ga South Municipality is located in the South Western part of Greater Accra. It lies within Latitudes 5°47'30"N and 5°27'30"N and Longitudes 0°31'30"W and 0°16'30"W. The Municipality shares boundaries with Upper West Akim to the North, Weija-Gbawe Municipal Assembly to the East. The Assembly also shares boundary Gomoa East to the South-West, Awutu-Senya East to the West, Awutu-Senya West to the North West and the Gulf of Guinea to the South. It occupies a land area of approximately 385.23 sqkm with a potential population density of 769.6pha, with about 60 settlements with population above 3000. There are hundreds of satellite communities and hamlets in the Municipality.
Vegetation and Climate
The Municipality lies within three vegetation covers namely the Moist Semi-delicious forest, Mangrove swamp and coastal Scrub and Grassland. There is evidence to suggest that the vegetation of the Assembly has been altered in the more recent past century by climatic and other human factors. The rainfall pattern is bi-modal with an annual mean varying between 760mm on the coast to about 1120mm in the extreme north. The Municipality experienced more dry seasons than wet seasons during the period .The annual average temperature ranges between 26ºC in August and 28ºC in February and March are the hottest months. It has a relative humidity of about 75%. Average duration figures are about 94% and 69% at 6:00 and 15:00 respectively.
Relief and Drainage
The land area consists of gentle slopes interspersed with plains in most parts and generally undulating at less than 76m above sea level. The slopes are mostly formed over the clay soils of the Dahomeyan gneiss with alluvial areas surrounding the low lying coastal lagoons.There are two main rivers namely, the Densu and Ponpon river, which drain the Municipality. The larger of the two is the Densu which drains down from the Eastern region through the western portion of the Municipality where it enters the sea. It is the source of water supply for over half of the entire population of Accra Metropolis and the Central part of the Greater Accra Region. Other Water bodies are mostly tributaries of the Adeiso, Doblo, Ntafafa and the Ponpon rivers. There is a potential of aquaculture in the Municipality and if well planned it would reduce unemployment rates in the Municipality.
Economy of the Municipality
The Ga South Municipality is projected to have an economically active population. The structure of the local economy is gradually shifting away from Agriculture and fishery to service and commerce with about over 57% of the economical active population engaged in the service and sales occupation. There is however a great potential for the Agric and fishery sector due to availability of land and the coast. The Assembly’s vision of developing 200 acres land at Danchira to become industrial and economic hub of the Assembly will be an economic booster for the Municipality. This will help generate employment and increase the revenue base of the Assembly.Also the development of solo monkey forest as sustainable community tourism Center will help diversify and expand the tourism industry for economic development and sustainable ecological management.
The informal sector is the largest employer in the Municipality, followed by the private formal sector. The proportion of the females working in the private informal sector is quite higher that of their male counterparts. However the proportion of males employed in the public sector is higher than the females. This may possibly be attributed to the fact that generally literacy level is lower among females in Ghana.
Demographic Characteristics
The population of Ga South as projected in the 2018-2021 Revised Medium Term Development Plan is 296,552 representing 7.3% of the Greater Accra Regional population which stands at 4,010,054. The Municipality has 71.2% of its population living in the urban areas. For the purpose of planning the projected population for the Municipality is estimated to be around 358,893 at the end of the 2021 plan period with an annual growth rate of over 4.5%.
The intercensal growth rate of the Municipality (4.1 %) is quite higher than that of Greater Accra Region (3.1%) and Ghana (2.7%) as a whole. This could be attributed to high migration rate into the Municipality especially those within the middle and higher class. The proximity to Accra the capital city and Kasoa also influences the population increase the Municipality is experiencing.
Distribution and Density
Ga South Municipal Assembly had a gross population density of 8.18 persons per hectare in 2010 according to the 2010 Housing and Population Census. The population density is currently estimated to be 10.91 ppha in 2017 and is projected to increase to 14.10/ha by the end of the plan period in 2021. When this increase is not well planned for, it will put pressure on the existing facilities and will demand for direct efforts to meet the needs of the populace.
February, 26 2021
