Profile

GENERAL PROFILE OF THE DISTRICT

The Kassena Nankana West District Assembly was carved out of the former Kassena Nankana District Assembly and was established in 2007 by the Local Government Instrument, 2004 (LI 1895).

Mission Statement

To improve the quality of life of the people by sustaining an appropriate enabling environment, food security, a well-educated, motivated and healthy population through effective and efficient resource mobilization and management in collaboration with Development Partners and Community Participation.

Vision Statement

To ensure a stable, peaceful, well balanced and integrated developed district in the Upper East Region and Ghana.

Values

  • To ensure that all departments of the assembly and agencies perform their duties effectively and efficiently in the district.
  • To ensure high sense of discipline and punctuality to work by staff of the Assembly.
  • Implement government policies and programmes efficiently in the district.

 Goal

Effective mobilization, co-ordinating and utilization of both human and material resources for the general wellbeing of the people, through the provision of basic services in a participatory manner.

Functions of the District Assembly

The functions of the Assembly are deliberative, legislative and executive; Section 12 (1) of the Local Government Act, 2016 Act, 936, lists the functions of Assemblies to include the following:

  1. Be responsible for the overall development of the district and shall ensure the preparation and submission through the Regional Co-ordinating Council for approval of the development plan to the NDPC and budget to Minister of Finance for the district.
  2. Formulate and execute plans, programmes and strategies for the effective mobilization of the resource necessary for the overall development of the district.
  3. Promote and support productive activity and social development in the district and remove any obstacles that imitate against development.
  4. Initiate Programmes for the development of basic infrastructure and provide municipal works and services in the district.
  5. Be responsible to the development, improvement and management of human settlement and the environment in the district.
  6. In co-operation with appropriate national and local security agencies, be responsible for the maintenance of security and public safety in the district.
  7. Ensure ready access to the courts and public tribunals in the district for the promotion of justice.
  8. Initiate, sponsor or carry out such studies as may be necessary for the discharges of any of the functions and conferred by the Act or any other enactment and Perform such other functions as may be provided under any other enactment.

Location and Size

It is located approximately between latitude 10’97° N and longitude 001’10° W. It occupies a land mass of about 1658km². The district shares boundaries with Burkina Faso, Bolgatanga Municipal, Kassena Nankana Municipal, Builsah and Sissala East to the North, North East, East, South, South West and West respectively.

Climate and Vegetation

The climate is classified as tropical and has two distinct seasons wet season that runs from May to October and a long dry season that stretches from October to April; with hardly any rains.  Mean annual rainfall is 950mm while maximum temperature is 45°C in March and April with a minimum of 12°C in December.  The one rainy season means most Agricultural activities must be carried out at this time to get the food requirements for the year. As this is normally not achieved, this has to be supplemented with irrigation farming in the dry season.

The natural vegetation is that of Guinea savannah woodland consisting of short deciduous trees, widely spaced and a ground flora, which gets burnt by fire or scorched by the sun during the long dry season.  The most common economic trees are the sheanut, dawadawa, baobab and acacia.  The District has a forest reserve, which primarily protects most of the water bodies in the area. 

Because the ground flora gets dried up in the dry season bush fires are a common phenomenon which sometimes burns some of these economic trees.

Soil

Two main soil types can be found in the district.  These soil types are the savanna ochrosols and the ground water laterite. The Northern and Eastern parts of the District are covered by the Savannah Ochrosols, while the rest of the District is characterized by ground water laterite.  The Savannah Ochrosols are porous, well drained, loamy, and mildly acidic and interspersed with patches of black or dark grey clay soils.  This soil type is suitable for cultivation of cereals and legumes.  The ground water laterites are developed over shale and granite.  Due to the underlying rock type, they become water logged during the rainy season and dry up during the dry season, thus causing cemented layers of iron-stone which make cultivation difficult. This would probably affect food security in the district.

Topography

The land form of the District is gently undulating with isolated rock outcrops and some upland which have slopes of over 10%. It falls within the Birimian Tarkwaian and Voltarian rocks of Ghana. These rocks contain minerals such as Gold, Stone and Clay.

Drainage

Drainage in the District is poor. People build on water ways thereby obstructing the free flow of water. These results in flooding in certain parts of the town anytime it rains. The drains constructed in the Township are not adequate to meet the needs of the Town. The management of those constructed is not the best. People dump waste into these drains. Some even defecate in them. These result in the choking of these drains which lead to flooding anytime it rains.

Culture

The Family is the basic social grouping among the people. There is the nuclear and the extended family which serve as the basic point of cultural, religious, economic and social development of members. The traditional system of Governance revolves around the Chief while the Tindana is the earth Priest. The People have two Festivals, the Fao celebrated by the people of Paga.

Traditional Authorities

There are seven paramouncies namely; Paga, Chiana, Katiu, Kayoro, Nakong, Mirigu and Sirigu. Each village or town has a chief who wields traditional authority. Apart from the chief there is the Tindana who is the Custodian of the sacred traditions as well as the administrator of the ancestral lands, which he holds in trust for the people.

 Religious Affiliation

The major religious denominations in the District are Islam (57.6%), Christianity (22.3%), Traditional (17.3%), and people with no religious affiliation (2.7%). Within the Christian religion, the Catholics are in the majority (35.2%), followed by the Pentecostal/Charismatic (13.8%) and Protestants (5.3%) other Christians are 3.3 percent.

Ethnic Composition

The District has a cosmopolitan population.  Although majority of the inhabitants are of Northern ethnic origins, there has been a huge influx of the major ethnic grouping of Ghana including Akans Ewes, Ga Adangbe, because of the boarder all these ethnic groups are found in the District.

Spatial Analysis

There are about 132 communities in the District.  Paga is the biggest settlement with a population of 75,005 people.   The settlement pattern is predominantly rural (about 95%) with dispersed buildings, which renders service provision extremely difficult.  The next hierarchy of settlements is Sirigu, Chiana and Kandiga. These provide a variety of services to the people. They are linked by a network of roads. The type of services includes health, agricultural extension, banking, police, production and marking centres etc.