Tonkolili District

Tonkolili District
Location of Tonkolili District in Sierra Leone
Coordinates: 8°40′N11°40′W / 8.667°N 11.667°W / 8.667; -11.667
Country	Sierra Leone
Province	Northern Province
Capital	Magburaka
Largest city	Magburaka
Government
• Type	District Council
• District Council Chairwoman	Yabom Sesay (APC)
• Deputy District Council Chairman	Foday Kanu (APC)
Area
• Total	7,003 km2 (2,704 sq mi)
Population  (2015 census) [1]
• Total	530,776
• Density	76/km2 (200/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Greenwich Mean Time)
HDI (2017)	0.384 [2] low · 10th

Tonkolili District is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Magburaka. The other major towns include Masingbi, Yele, Mile 91, Bumbuna, Yonibana, Matotoka. Mathora, Magbass and Masanga. Tonkolili District is home to the largest sugar factory in Sierra Leone, and one of the largest sugar factories in West Africa, that is located in the town of Magbass. Tonkolili District had a population of 530,776. ^[1] The district occupies a total area of 7,003 km² (2,704 sq mi) and comprises eleven chiefdoms.

Tonkolili District borders Bombali District to the northwest, Kono District to the east, Kenema District and Bo District to the southeast, Port Loko and Koinadugu Districts. Tonkolili is strategically located in the center of Sierra Leone. The district is criss crossed by many rivers including the Pampana River and Sierra Leone's longest river, the Rokel.

The Temne people make up the overwhelming majority of the population of Tonkolili District. The vast majority of the population of Tonkolili District are Muslims.

Demographics

The population is mostly Muslim and the people are largely from the Temne ethnic group.

Religion in Tonkolili District (2015) [3]
Religion			Percent(%)
Islam			84.9%
Christianity			14.0%
Bahai Faith			0.0%
Traditional African religion			0.1%
Other			0.5%
No religion			0.4%

.

Economy

Economically, there is significant potential for an extractive economy, specifically the mining of iron ore, bauxite gold and to a lesser extent diamonds. Today the biggest iron ore deposit in Africa and the third largest in the world, African Minerals Tonkolili Project, are found in the hills around Bumbuna, Mabonto and Bendugu. Agriculture also plays a significant role in the economy, the biggest bio energy company in Africa, Addax Petroleum, operates mostly in Mar in constituency 60. There is also a significant agricultural activity at the Magbass sugar production facility and refinery run by Complant, a Chinese construction engineering firm. A rubber factory is about to be established in the Mile 91 area. There are several hydroelectric power systems in the district, especially at Bumbuna. There is also as game reserve at Mamunta. However, economic development was hindered by the destruction of facilities during the 1991-2002 civil war.

Education

Before the civil war, education was highly esteemed, especially in Arabic and English. Since the end of the conflict, schools have been rebuilt to a large extent and even new ones created, including an Arabic college. As of 2004 ^[update] , the district was home to 310 primary schools which had nearly 74,000 students. It was also home to 15 secondary schools.

Government

Tonkolili District currently has nine Representatives in the Sierra Leonean Parliament, of which eight members were elected for a 5-year term.

Administrative divisions

Chiefdoms

Pre-2017 Prior to the 2017 local administrative reorganization, Tonkolili District was made up of eleven chiefdoms as the third level of administrative subdivision, with their administrative centres in parentheses listed below: [4] Gbonkolenken – Yele Kafe Simiria – Mabonto Kalansongoia – Bumbuna Kholifa Mabang – Mabang Kholifa Rowalla – Magburaka Kunike – Masingbi Kunike Barina – Makali Malal Mara – Rochin Sambaia – Bendugu Tane – Matotoka Yoni – Yonibana

Post-2017 After the 2017 local administrative reorganization, Tonkolili District has made up of nineteen chiefdoms as the third level of administrative subdivision. Dansogoia [lower-alpha 1] – Bumbuna Gbonkolenken Masankong – Yele Kafe [lower-alpha 2] – ? Kalanthuba [lower-alpha 1] – ? Kholifa Mabang – Mabang Kholifa Mamuntha Mayosso [lower-alpha 3] – ? Kholifa Rowalla – Magburaka Kunike Barina – Makali Kunike Folawusu [lower-alpha 4] – ? Kunike Sanda – Masingbi Malal [lower-alpha 5] – Rochin Mayeppoh [lower-alpha 6] – ? Poli [lower-alpha 6] – ? Sambaia – Bendugu Simiria [lower-alpha 2] – Mabonto Tane – Matotoka Yele [lower-alpha 6] – ? Yoni Mabanta [lower-alpha 7] – ? Yoni Mamaila [lower-alpha 7] – Yonibana Notes Formerly part of Kalansongoia Chiefdom; split off. Formerly part of Nieni Chiefdom. Formerly part of Kholifa Rowalla Chiefdom. Formerly part of Kunike Sanda Chiefdom. Formerly part of Malal Mara Chiefdom before losing the Mara section. Formerly part of Gbonkolenken Chiefdom Formerly part of Yoni Chiefdom; split off.

Mining

Tonkolili is the site of new iron ore mine, including a 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) railway between the mine and Port Pepel. This railway to Port Pepel with an extension to deeper waters at Tagrin Point would be about 200 km long. ^[5] While built by the African Minerals company, the railway would be open access to other users at commercial rates. ^{[6] [7]} There is also a large deposit at Kasafoni.

References

1. Regina Pratt (1 April 2016). "'Sierra Leone Population Is Now Over Seven Million'". allAfrica. Freetown. Concord Times. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
2. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
3. "Population structure report" (PDF).
4. "Chiefdoms". Sierra Leone.org. Archived from the original on 14 January 2011.
5. Corporate Presentation african-minerals.com December 2010
6. "allAfrica.com: Sierra Leone: African Minerals to Boost Bunbuna Hydro (Page 1 of 1)". Archived from the original on 2008-10-24.
7. Railways Africa September 2009

External links

• Tonkolili District Council
• Tonkolili District at the Sierra Leone Encyclopedia 2006
• Warning of the health hazard in the Tonkolili District