Bawku West District | |
---|---|
Location of Bawku West District within Upper East | |
Coordinates: 10°56′16.44″N0°28′51.24″W / 10.9379000°N 0.4809000°W | |
Country | Ghana |
Region | Upper East |
Capital | Zebilla |
Government | |
• District Executive | Hon. Victoria Ayamba |
Area | |
• Total | 979 km2 (378 sq mi) |
Population (2019) | |
• Total | 114,427 [1] |
• Density | 1.83/km2 (4.7/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
ISO 3166 code | GH-UE-BW |
Bawku West District is one of the fifteen districts in Upper East Region, Ghana. Originally created as an ordinary district assembly in 1988; which was established by Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 1442. The municipality is located in the eastern part of Upper East Region and has Zebilla as its capital town.
Bawku West is part of the traditional kingdom of Kusaug. Kusasi is the main ethnic group and Kusaal is the main language spoken in the area. [2] As the Kusasi kingdom of Kusaug, it is much older.
It is bordered to the north by the Republic of Burkina Faso, to the east by Binduri District, to the west by Talensi District and Nabdam District and to the south by East Mamprusi District. The district covers an area of approximately 1,070 square kilometres, which constitutes about 12% of the total land area of the Upper East Region. It is the fourth biggest district in the region in terms of land area.
According to the 2010 population and housing census, the total population is 94,034 representing 9.0 percent of the region's total population. Males constitute 48 percent and females represent 52 percent of the district's population. Of the population 11 years and above, 39.0 percent are literate and 61.0 percent are non-literate. The proportion of literate males is higher (48.0%) than that of females (31.0%). [3] that time. Kusaal is the dominant language in Zebilla. The majority of the inhabitants of the district are Kussasi, but there are also numerous Basari and Mossi from the adjacent kingdoms. Zebilla, like many other places in Northern part of Ghana has very shallow soil which is less rich in organic fertilizer. [4] The weather conditions are harsh with little rainfall. Major crops that thrive well in the area are maize, sorghum, 'Nara', rice, soya beans, bambara beans and groundnut. Joy News reported that, a man called Apamsaiblik Azurago, 'defied the odds' and cultivated the first ever cocoa in the area. [5]
Goods and commodity trading occur every three days in an open market in Zebilla. The same occurs in smaller townships like Sapeliga on the Burkina Faso border. The Zebilla market is at the district capital and it is the largest market in the district. There are other smaller markets like the Binaba market which is at Binaba zone, Tanga market which is at the Tanga zone, Sapeliga Market, at the Sapeliga Market. The smaller markets come a day after or every other day after Zebilla market day. Zebilla is noted for animal production. Guinea fowls, sheep, goat and dogs are mostly sold every market day. Dog meat is a delicacy among the traditional Kusasi people. Dogs are sold in open place every in all the small markets and people from the regional capital, Bolga come to all these places to buy them and process as a delicacy.
Bolgatanga, colloquially known as Bolga, is a town and the capital of the Bolgatanga Municipal and the Upper East Region of Ghana, adjacent to the border with Burkina Faso. Bolgatanga is 161 km (100 mi) to the north of Tamale. The town lies in the Red Volta Valley, with the White Volta and the cliffs of the Gambaga escarpment to the south of the town forming the southern boundary of the Upper East Region. As of 2012, the town has a population of about 66,685 people. Some ethnic groups who lived in large qualities in Bolgatanga are Northerners, Akan, Ewe, and Ga-Adangbe. The current mayor of the town is Rex Asanga.
The Upper West Region of Ghana is located in the north-western corner of Ghana and is bordered by Upper East Region to the east, Northern Region to the south, and Burkina Faso to the west and north. The Upper West regional capital and largest settlement is Wa. The Upper West was created by the then Head of State, Jerry Rawlings in 1983 under the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) military regime. The area was carved out of the former Upper Region, which is now the Upper East Region. For about thirty-five years, it remained the youngest region of Ghana until 2018 when six more regions were created by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government; hence increasing the total number of administrative regions in the country to sixteen.
The Nawdba, sing. Nawda, to whom some refer as Lossos in Togo, are an ethnic and linguistic group of people living in the Doufelgou District (Préfecture) of the Kara Region in Northern Togo, West Africa. The district capital is Niamtougou which is also an important regional market town. The Nawdba live on a plateau in the Togo Mountains between two mountain ranges: the Kabiyé Mountains to the South and the Défalé Chain to the North. They occupy the communities of Niamtougou, Koka, Baga, Ténéga, Siou, Djogrergou, Sioudouga, Kpadeba, Hago, Koukou, and Kounfaga. The Doufelgou District is bordered by the Kozah District to the South, by the Binah District to the East, by the Bassar District to the West, by the Kéran District to the North, and by the international border with Bénin to the Northeast.
Paga is a town in Upper East Region of Ghana, lying north of Bolgatanga. Paga is the capital of Kassena Nankana West District, a district in the Upper East Region in the northern part of Ghana. The town is located on the border of Burkina Faso and is 166 km south of Ouagadougou via the N5 highway, the main road linking Ghana and Burkina Faso. The majority of the people of Paga are of the Kassena tribe.
The Upper East Region is located in northern part of Ghana and it is the third smallest of the 16 administrative regions in Ghana. It occupies a total land surface of 8,842 square kilometers or 2.7% of the total land area of Ghana. The regional capital is Bolgatanga, which is sometimes referred to as Bolga. Other major towns in the region include Navrongo, Paga, Sandema, Bawku, and Zebilla, Tempane, Pusiga, Garu, Pwalugu, Widana
Kusaal is a Gur language spoken primarily in northern eastern Ghana, and Burkina Faso. It is spoken by about 121,000 people and takes its name from the Kusaal people, or Kusasi. There is a distinctive dialect division between Agole, to the East of the Volta River, and Toende, to the West. Agole has more speakers. The 6-district capital; Bawku West with Zebilla as capital and the rest; Binduri, Bawku, Tempane, Garu and Pusiga districts mostly Agole dialect speakers. The complete Bible translation is in the Agole dialect.
Bawku is a town and is the capital of the Bawku Municipal District, district in the Upper East region of north Ghana, adjacent to the border with Burkina Faso. It is located approximately between latitudes 11o 111 and 100 401 North and longitude 0o 181w and 0o 61 E in the north-eastern corner of the region. The municipality has a total land area of about 257 km2. The Municipality was established by Legislative Instrument (L.I) 2103. The municipality has a total land area of about 257 km2. Bawku has a 2021 settlement population of 119,458 people. Hon. Ayariga Mahama is the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central Constituency.
Bawku Municipal District is one of the fifteen districts in Upper East Region, Ghana. Originally created as an ordinary district assembly in 1988 when it was known as Bawku East District; which was established by Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 1439, until the southern part of the district was split off by a decree of president John Agyekum Kufuor in August 2004 to create Garu-Tempane District; thus the remaining part was elevated to municipal district assembly status on the same year to become Bawku Municipal District. However, on 28 June 2012, two parts of the district were later split off to create Binduri District and Pusiga District respectively; thus the remaining part has been retained as Bawku Municipal District. The municipality is located in the eastern part of Upper East Region and has Bawku as its capital town.
Bissa, is a Mande ethnic group of south-central Burkina Faso, northeastern Ghana and the northernmost tip of Togo. Their language, Bissa, is a Mande language that is related to, but not the same as, a cluster of languages in the old Borgu Kingdom area of Northeast Benin and Northwest Nigeria, including Busa, Boko, and Kyenga. An alternate name for the Bissa is Busansi which is used by the Mossi people and Kusasi people or Busanga.
The Oti–Volta languages form a subgroup of the Gur languages, comprising about 30 languages of northern Ghana, Benin, and Burkina Faso spoken by twelve million people. The most populous language is Mooré, the national language of Burkina Faso, spoken by over 55% of Burkina Faso’s 20 million population and an additional 1 million in neighboring countries such as Ghana, Ivory Coast, Niger, and Mali.
Zebilla is one of the constituencies represented in the Parliament of Ghana. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Zebilla is located in the Bawku West district of the Upper East Region of Ghana.
Kpassa is the capital of Nkwanta North District, a district in the Oti Region of Ghana. The Oti Region was part of the Volta Region of Ghana until 2019. The indigenous inhabitants of Kpassa are mainly Konkombas. In the past, the inhabitants of Kpassa have mainly engaged in farming. This trend has changed during the past two decades. Younger inhabitants are actively pursuing education and small-scale business activities, while the older ones are into governance. As a result, Kpassa has undergone rapid expansion during these past two decades. The town is expected to expand further once the Eastern Corridor Road Project is completed. In terms of architecture, a returning visitor will easily noticed that the town is rapidly shifting from mud buildings or atakpame to modern block buildings. In fact, most people in the town attach this shift to prestige and affluence in the society. At the current rate, one is expected to find fewer atakpame buildings a decade in the future. The economy of Kpassa is critical to the Volta Region, owing to its engagement in the production of valuable agricultural products such as corn, yam, cassava, millet, groundnuts, pepper, soya beans, and beans, among others.
Abofour is a town in the Offinso Municipality in Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest town in the Municipality after the Offinso township. It is in fact one of the most populated townships in the Ashanti REGION of Ghana. Though Offinso is the Municipal capital, Abofour undoubtedly is the economic hub of the municipality by the virtue of having one of the largest markets in the country.
Garu is a town and is the administrative capital of Garu District, a district in the Upper East Region of northern Ghana.
The Samanpiid Festival is an annual festival celebrated by the Kusasis in the Kusaug Traditional Area in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The festival is one that is used to thank God for a bumper harvest during the farming season. The festival was first celebrated in 1987. The 26th Anniversary had former president Jerry John Rawlings as a guest speaker.
Binduri District is one of the fifteen districts in Upper East Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Bawku Municipal District in 1988; until two parts of the district were later split off to create Binduri District and Pusiga District respectively on 28 June 2012. The district assembly is located in the eastern part of Upper East Region and has Binduri as its capital town. The capital of Binduri District is Binduri town.
The Burkina Faso–Ghana border is 602 km in length and runs from the tripoint with Ivory Coast in the west to the tripoint with Togo in the east.
Garu-Tempane District is a former district that was located in Upper East Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Bawku East District in August 2004. However, on 15 March 2018, it was split out into two new districts: Garu District and Tempane District. The district assembly was located in the eastern part of Upper East Region and had Garu as its capital town. It borders Burkina Faso to the north.
Wuriyanga Mosque is located in the Upper East region of Ghana, beyond Garu. It is located southeast of Bawku.
Adabokrom is a town in Western North Region of Ghana. It is the capital of Bia East. Adabokrom was named the District capital after Bia East District split from Bia District in 2012. Adabokrom is about 250 km west of Kumasi. The town is noted for cocoa production.