Dormaa District
The Dormaa District was a district in Ghana . It was located in the center of Ghana in the Brong-Ahafo region , which was dissolved in 2018, and bordered the districts of Asunafo North , Asutifi , Sunyani Municipal , Berekum and Jaman South in the same region. It also bordered the neighboring state of Ivory Coast . Chief executive over the 2,208 km² district with approx. 150,229 inhabitants (2002) was Ben Anane Asamoah with the seat in the district capital Dormaa Ahenkro . In 2006 the district was divided into the districts Dormaa East , Dormaa West and the Dormaa Municipal District , which have belonged to the Bono Region since 2019 .
geography
The district had 150,229 inhabitants on an area of 2,208 km² (status: 2002) and was at an altitude between 180 and 375 meters above sea level. The area around Asunsu in the northwest reached the highest elevations. Here was the Pamu-Berekum Forest Reserve. The towns of Dormaa Ahenkro , Gonokrom , Wamfie and Biaso were at an altitude of between 240 and 300 meters . The district was drained by a multitude of smaller rivers and streams that flowed north-south. The most famous rivers were Bia , Nkasapim and Pamu .
The annual average fell between 1250 and 1750 mm of rain, so that a large part of the district was covered with dense rainforest. There was a rainy season between May and June and a second rainy season between September and October. In the extreme northeast on the border with the Sunyani Municipal District and Asutifi District , almost untouched rainforest was preserved, which was protected in a total of three forest reserves. The Mpameso Forest Reserve extended to an area of 197.67 km², the Pamu-Berekum Forest Reserve was located on an area of 116.80 km² and the Tain II Forest reserve was located on 297.6 km².
The Mpameso Forest Reserve was in the south of the district, Pamu-Berekum in the northwest and Tain II in the west of the district.
population
The vast majority of the population belonged to 97 percent of the Brong people . One percent came from the peoples of northern Ghana and another two percent were other ethnic groups. The most common language was Abron .
Traditionally, the Dormaanamhene held the rulership (chieftancy) in the district as Paramount Chief (high chief). The smaller rulers such as Aduanahene, Gyasehene, Ankobeahene, Dompimhene, Krontithene, (Mansehene), Kyidomhene, Benkum and Nifahene were traditionally subordinate to him. Acting Dormaanamehe was last Oseadeayo Nana Agyemang Badu II , queen mother with a traditionally important position was Nana Akosua Fiema Juaben .
The population in the Dormaa District grew between 1960, 1970 and 1984 from 51,057, to 76,650 and ultimately to 107,996 inhabitants. A population of 150,229 inhabitants could be counted in a census of the year 2002. Between 1960 and 1970, the district had a population growth rate of four percent. Between 1970 and 1984 this growth rate fell to 2.4 percent and finally between 1984 and 2002 to 2.1 percent. This means that population growth in the district was well below the regional average of 2.5 and the national average of 2.7 percent in the period between 1984 and 2002.
Only the villages of Dormaa Ahenkro , Wamfie , Wamanafo and Nkrankwanta had over 1500 inhabitants. Another 345 localities were located in the district. The largest towns were all in the northern part of the district, the center of the district was the least populated. This was mainly due to the Mpameso Forest Reserve designated there. A total of 31.1 percent of the population lived in an urban setting.
With 72 percent of the population, Christianity was the largest religious community in the district. Another 19 percent of the population were Muslims and only three percent belonged to traditional religions. The population group aged 15–64 made up by far the largest part of the population with 57 percent of the total population. About 36 percent of the population were between 0 and 14 years of age and the older population group of over 64 years comprised about 7 percent of the total population. For every 10 women in the district there were only 9 men. This gender distribution corresponded to the national distribution, which also showed a surplus of women, probably also due to emigration.
economy
A total of 56 percent of the population worked in the agricultural sector. About 19 percent worked in industry, 7.4 percent in retail and 23.6 percent in the service sector. The average household in the district gave 6.7 percent of its income to rent, 10.3 percent to education, 15.2 percent to health, 3.4 percent to energy, 6.4 percent to water, and 44.8 percent to food , 7.6 percent for clothing, 3.5 percent for funeral expenses, and 2.1 percent for miscellaneous items.
In the district, 56.8 percent of the population was described as extremely poor, and another 17.6 percent were considered poor. Throughout Ghana, poverty is a major problem for the rural population.
Agriculture was the main economic sector in the Dormaa District. Around 60 percent of the working population worked in agriculture. Almost every household in the district depended on agriculture through at least one member. The size of the business in the district was rather small and essentially operated on the basis of subsistence farming. In 2005 around 23,530 hectares were built on. Mainly corn , plantains , cassava , yam , tomatoes and pepper were grown. Export goods such as coffee and cocoa were also grown. The economic proceeds of agriculture were negatively affected mainly by the lack of suitable storage facilities such as cold stores.
Of the entire Brong-Ahafo region , the Dormaa District had the largest poultry production. Cattle, sheep and goats also made up a substantial part of food production.
education
In the district, 33 percent of the population over 6 years had never attended school in their life. This put the district below the regional average of 42 percent. In the 2005/2006 school year, 81.4 percent of school-age children attended primary school. In 2006, 51.4 percent of primary school children were boys and 48.6 percent were girls. In high schools and junior secondary schools , only 17 percent of the students were girls. Only around 6.5 percent of the children enrolled in school reached the higher grades after completing primary school.
A total of 130 kindergartens, 171 primary schools, 99 junior secondary schools and 6 senior secondary schools (SSS) as well as 2 commercial schools were opened. A total of 78 percent of the schools were public institutions. All SSS and the commercial schools were located in the four urban centers of Dormaa Ahenkro (4), Wamfie (1), Wamanafo (1) and Nkrankwanta (1). There were 1,972 teachers serving throughout the district. Of these, 883 (44.8 percent) had been trained on the job. The vast majority of the approx. 55.2 percent non-subject-specific teachers worked in preschool or elementary school.
health
A total of 32 hospitals and clinics were available. The district hospital was located in Dormaa Ahenkro, 3 health centers were in Wamfie , Dormaa Akwamu and Nkrankwanta , 10 rural clinics and 4 private clinics were opened. Another 5 private birthing centers, 4 community clinics in Wamanafo and Wamfie and 84 health agencies were spread across the district. Despite the good location, the staffing of the health centers and clinics was insufficient. Malaria was a major health problem in the district, accounting for 10.8 percent of all diseases.
New HIV infections in the district between 2002 and 2005 were 4.7 percent in 2002, 4.8 percent in 2003, 4.4 percent in 2004 and 3.8 percent in 2005. Estimates for the second quarter of 2006 were 3.7 percent. The district was thus well above the national average, which was 2.6 in 2004.
In the entire district with more than 150,000 inhabitants, only 4 doctors with a correspondingly low number of nurses were active.
Constituencies
Two constituencies were established in the Dormaa district. In the constituency of Dormaa West, Yaw Asiedu-Mensah won a seat in the Ghanaian parliament for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2004 general election. For the constituency of Dormaa East, Yaw Atow-Ababio won the 2004 parliamentary elections for the NPP.