Profile

Background

The Tano North Municipal is one of Six Administrative Districts in the -Ahafo Region. It was established in 2017 by Legislative Instrument (LI) 2267 and has Duayaw-Nkwanta as its Administrative Capital. The Municipality lies between Latitudes 70 00′ N and 70 25′N and Longitudes 20 03′ W and 20 15′ W. It has a total land area of 837.4 square kilometers. On its western stretch and north to south, the Municipality shares boundaries with Sunyani West District, Sunyani Municipal and Asutifi North District in that order.  On the eastern side, Tano North District shares boundaries with Offinso North District in the extreme north-east and Tano South District in the east. In the southern part the District shares boundaries with Asutifi South and Ahafo Ano North in the south-west. The Municipality in general is regarded as agrarian and lies in the heart of the forest zone and has a vast track of arable land with two rainfall patterns. Aside the vast fertile land which is suitable for the cultivation of a wide range of cash and food crops, the municipality has two forest reserves (Bosomkese and Aparipari Forest Reserves) of about 157.45sq km and a number of tree species. The Municipality is also endowed with a large deposit of white and red clay in the basin of the Tano River in and around Tanoso.

Vision and Mission Statement

The vision of the Assembly is to ensure that the Tano North Municipal becomes a place where all resources are sustainably managed to provide a household food security, equitable access to quality health, education, services and gainful employment.

In pursuance of its mission the Tano North Municipal exist to improve the quality of life of its people in collaboration with the private sector and other stakeholders by mobilizing available resources for the development of socio-economic facilities and services.

Functions and Core Values

The core values of the Assembly include but not limited to Professionalism, Accountability, Client Focus Participation, Efficiency and Effectiveness and Transparency.

Like all other Districts, its standards of conduct are embedded in Anonymity, Permanence, Client orientation, Loyalty and Commitments, Transparency and Accountability, Diligence Discipline and Timeliness, Creativity and Innovation above all Integrity.

The Assembly performs administrative, deliberative and legislative functions. It is also the planning Authority of its area of jurisdiction and is responsible for the sustained development of the municipality through the preparation and implementation of development plans programmes and projects. Other functions include;

  • Formulation and preparation of District Development Plan and Budget.
  • Effective mobilization and allocation of resources for the provision of public goods and services in the interest of the people.
  • Developing and ensuring the availability of basic quality services (including waste collection and disposal).
  •  Promote justice such as ensuring ready access to the courts of competent jurisdiction and other arbitration facilities.
  • Promote and support productive activity and social development.
  • Maintenance of efficient and effective security and public safety in collaboration with relevant national and local security agencies services.
  • Create an enabling environment and co-operation with development partners to carry out development activities in the Municipality.

Physical Environment

 Location and Size

The Tano North Municipal is one of Six Administrative Districts in the -Ahafo Region. It was carved out of the Tano District in 2004 and upgraded into a Municipality in 2017 by Legislative Instrument (LI) 2267. It has Duayaw-Nkwanta as its Administrative Capital.

The Municipality lies between Latitudes 70 00′ N and 70 25′ N and Longitudes 20 03′ W and 20 15′ W. It has a total land area of 876 square kilometers and constitutes about 10.3 percent of the total land area of the Ahafo Region. On its western stretch and north to south, the Municipality shares boundaries with Sunyani West District, Sunyani Municipal and Asutifi North District in that order.  On the eastern side, Tano North Municipality shares boundaries with Offinso North District in the extreme north-east and Tano South Municipal in the east. In the southern part the Municipality shares boundaries with Asutifi South and Ahafo Ano North in the south-west.

Topography

The topography of the Municipality is undulating; rising gently from a height of about 270m in the north-west to a peak of about 760m in the south-east. The area is well drained by the Tano River and its numerous tributaries including Subri, Kwasu and Mankran, all of which generally flow from the north-east to the south–west.

Climate

The Municipality lies in the Semi–Equatorial Climatic Zone and experiences double maxima rainfall regime, from April–June and September–November. The period between December and March is the dry season characterized by harsh harmattan conditions. The mean annual rainfall of the municipality is 1,308 and the mean monthly temperature ranges between 250 C (mainly in August) and 330 C (in March). The relative humidity of the area is generally high, between 75 percent and 80 percent during the rainy season and 70 percent and 72 percent in the dry season.

Vegetation

The Municipality has two main vegetation types, the Moist Semi-Deciduous Forest, mostly in the southern and south-eastern parts covered by the following three main forest reserves: Aparipari, Bosomkese and Omankwayemu Forest Reserves. The second dominant vegetation type is the Guinea Savannah found in the northern and north western parts around Subriso and Yamfo where cattle rearing is predominant

Geology and Soils

The geology of the Municipality is basically of the Middle Precambrian formation characterized by Metamorphosed Pre-Cambrian rocks. There are also vast deposits of gold in the areas around Yamfo, Tanoso, Terchire and Adrobaa.  The dominant soil type of the area is Sandy-Loam and is generally considered to be fertile and suitable for the cultivation of a wide range of arable crops such as cocoa, coffee, oil palm, plantain, maize, citrus and vegetables.

Culture

The people of Duayaw Nkwanta are Akans. The Akans were organized into small kingdoms called Bonoman. The people were engaged in various trading activities like slavery, gold mining and farming to keep their families. In the olden days, the people of Duayaw Nkwanta celebrated Dwira festival annually in February. However, Nananom currently observed Murokuo and Akwasideɛ festival respectively. Other customary ceremonies they observed are birth rites, Abam,and Nkwanta Fida.

Traditional Authority

The Municipality has two Traditional Councils, which are both Paramount: Duayaw-Nkwanta and Yamfo. Currently, Duayaw Nkwanta Traditional Councils has 1 Paramount Chief and 11 Divisional Chiefs. These Traditional Institutions are the embodiment of the cultural and social systems of the people and constitute a potent-force in the running and development of the municipality. They exercise authority over the people basically through the arbitration of cases and invocation of traditional taboos. The success or otherwise of the development efforts of the Municipal Assembly may thus depend on the support of the Chiefs, Queen mothers and Council of Elders in the various communities.







Historic Sites

The most important Tourist sites in the municipality are the Bosomkese and Aparapi Forest Reserves. These serves as the aesthetic and scientific natural resources.  In these reserves, one can find different species of trees such as Odum, Mahogany, Gmelina, Ceiba, Cassia, Asafena and Akasaa. These reserves are of biodiversity importance. Some of the species in the forest do not only serve as medicinal plants but they could also be used for carving and other wood works.

The forest reserves also serve as habitat for several species of wildlife and game and as good shed for the rivers and streams in the Municipality and beyond. A number of traditional shrines are found in the municipality. Prominent among these are the Bosomkese and Apaape at Bomaa. Traditionally, the Tano River is adored throughout Bono, Bono East, Ahafo and Ashanti regions. It is a religious taboo to eat fish from the river. Consequently, the river has become conducive habitat for a wide range of fish species. Mention can also be made of one tourist altercation site at Bomaa known as Chain of Hills. Some historic features in the municipality are Atwaban, Kaniako, Aparapi Forest reserve all in Duayaw Nkwanta and Abutu at Yamfo.

SETTLEMENTS SYSTEMS

Spatial Analysis

The general settlement pattern of the municipality is the disperse type. The larger settlements namely Duayaw Nkwanta, Yamfo, Bomaa, Terchire and Tanoso lie in different routes. This type of settlement hinders the distribution of facilities such as water, schools, health facilities etc.

Hierarchy of Settlements

Scalogram Analysis

The Scalogram Technique was used to analyze the distribution of services in the municipality.  The functional Matrix shows the major settlements, the populations and their corresponding economic and social services and facilities existing in them. 

A total of 20 settlements with a projected population above 500 in the year 2020 was considered. Twenty-five (25) number services were also considered. The hierarchy of settlements was derived from the centrality index. In all 4 levels of hierarchy were derived. Duayaw Nkwanta was found to be the only level 1 settlement having 24 services. This was followed by Yamfo and Bomaa as level 2 settlement with 19 and 17 services respectively.  Tanoso and Terchire   were found to be only level 3 settlement with 15 and 14 services respectively. Even though Settlements such Adrobaa, Susuanso, Afirispakrom and Buokrukruwa are 4th order settlements they have at least 9

services. Similarly, Susuanho, Subonpang, Asukese are also 4th order settlements but with a centrality index of less than 45. It would be realized that the population above 3000 have more services and therefore are playing important roles in their people. Conversely, settlement with population below 1000 have fewer services. The cause of this inequality or unequal distribution of services can be attributed to a great extent to the population and the location advantage that some communities have over.

 In order to accelerate the pace of development of the Municipality, the following communities are being proposed as development nodes/growth poles; 

  • Bomaa
  • Tanoso
  • Terchire
  • Adrobaa

Community centers, Post Offices, Lorry Parks/Stations should be extended to these towns. Health facilities in Tanoso Terchire and Adrobaa should be upgraded. Schools in these towns should be turned into model schools with adequate teaching and learning materials. Markets in these towns must be well developed to better serve the neighboring communities.

Potential Growth Rate The Tano North Municipal shares boundaries with about seven different Districts/ Municipalities. By virtue of its position on the Kumasi- Sunyani high way, Duayaw Nkwanta is expanding in almost all its directions, north, south, east and west. However, potential growth points exist in Afrispakrom, Terchire, Adrobaa due to the commencement of mining activities by Newmont Ghana Gold Limited. Other communities include Susuanso, Buokrukruwa, Subompang, Susuanho, Mankranho. The implication here is that, the extension of services particularly utility services such as water and electricity should be of outmost priority to the Municipal Assembly now and in subsequent years to ensure overall development.