DISTRICT PROFILE
Legal Backing
Afigya-Kwabre District Assembly, is one of the Forty-Three (43) and Two Hundred and Fifty-Four (254) Metropolitan/Municipal/District Assemblies in Ashanti and Ghana respectively. It was established by Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 1885 of November 2007. It was carved out of the former Kwabre and Afigya-Sekyere District Assemblies, with Kodie as its Capital.
Location and Size
The District is located in the central part of Ashanti Region of Ghana between Latitudes 6.893867 and 6.894077, and Longitudes -1.68917and -1.52372 (WGS 84 Coordinate system). The district has an area of about 122 square kilometres (12,188.3 hectares). The District is bounded by Suame Municipal Assembly to the South, Afigya Kwabre North to the North, Atwima Nwabiagya North to the West, Sekyere South to the North East, and Kwabre East Municipal to the South East.
The Afigya Kwabre South District was delineated from Afigya Kwabre district on the 15th March, 2018. The central location of the district within the Ashanti Region coupled with its accessibility to most of the areas make interaction among the populace very easy.
Its closeness to Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana makes it a dormitory district and also has a high population growth rate and a fast growth of settlements. This has resulted in intense pressure on socio-economic facilities as well as increase in waste generation.
Again, the nearness of the District to the urbanized community of Kumasi Metropolis has made parts of the district to assume urban status. Such towns include Atimatim, Heman, Nkukua Buoho, Kodie and Afrancho. There is an assumption of increased revenue from these communities as a result of the increased commercial activities in the townships.
Climate
The Climate is equatorial climate. Major rainy season is between March and July. Minor season are between September and November.
Mean annual rainfall ranges between 855mm and 1,500mm. The average number of rainy days for the year is between 110 and 120 days. December to March marks a dry season with high day Temperatures. Mean monthly temperature is about 270c.
Map 1: Afigya-Kwabre South District Map
Vegetation
The vegetation is moist semi-deciduous. The forest consists of three layers namely upper, middle and lower layers. Tree species found in the forest include: sapele, mahogany, odum, wawa etc.
Relief
The landscape is a dissected plateau with heights reaching 800m to 1200m above sea level. The plateau forms part of the Mampong-Gam-baga scarp.
Drainage
The District is drained by three main rivers and their tributaries. These are rivers Offin, Oyon and Abanko. Continuous human activities along these rivers and streams have adversely affected their flows. Almost all the rivers experience seasonal flows.
Geological Formation
The District has two geological formations, namely Voltaian and Dahomeyan. The Voltaian formation consists of shale, sandstone, mudstone and lime-stone. The Dahomeyan formation consists of meta-morphic rocks such as gneiss and schist.
Soils
The soil types consist of Kumasi-Offin Compound Association, Bomso-Offin Association, Jamasi Simple Association, Boamang Simple Association, Bediesi-Sutawa Association and Yaya-Primpimson Association.
The Kumasi-Offin Compound Soil is good for tree crops such as citrus, cocoa, coffee and oil-palm. They are also good for food crops like, cocoyam, plantain, cassava and yam.
The Boamang Simple Association is good for agriculture but it is highly susceptible to erosion.
The Bediesi-Sutawa Association has high water holding capacity and is suitable for mechanized agriculture. They support crops like maize, yam, legumes, cassava, plantain and groundnuts.
Political Structure
For the purpose of Local Government, the District has one (1) Constituency namely, Afigya Kwabre South Constituency. There are Sixty-eight (68) settlements in the District, which have been delineated into Twenty-seven (27) Electoral Areas for the purpose of District Assembly Elections. The Assembly has 36 Assembly members comprising 27 elected, 9 appointees and 1 Member of Parliament. These are made up of 3 females ie 8.3% and 33 males i.e. 91.7%. This highly skewed situation is unacceptable and for that matter more women should be encouraged to participate in issues of the Assembly.
The Assembly is responsible for the overall development of the District as per the provisions under section 10 of the Local Government Act, Act 936, of 2016. It is also responsible for the formulation of programmes and strategies for effective mobilization and utilization of human, material, and financial resources to improve upon the quality of life of the people in the District
The District has dual characteristics, which include; Peri-Urban features around the fringes of Kumasi and rural features in the hinterlands. There is massive development in the housing industry in the district due to its closeness to Kumasi, the regional capital of Ashanti. The key economic activities in the District are stone and sand winning, farming and commerce.
Due to the rapid expansion of settlements and constructional activities and increasing population in the District, there is considerable pressure on the existing limited socio-economic infrastructure in the District, which needs to be improved upon. The Assembly also has an arduous task in the area of solid waste management, especially in the emerging larger communities like Atimatim, Afrancho and Buoho.