MARKET INFRASTRUCTURE

 Market infrastructure constitutes an important component of the development of the District Economy .The District has two (2) medium size markets located at Nyankumasi-Ahenkro and Andoe, where major trading and commercial activities are carried out during market days. Tuesdays and Fridays are for Nyankumasi-Ahenkro Market whilst Sundays and Wednesdays are for Andoe Market. Apart from these two (2) markets, there are other small size ones located at Ngresi, Ongwa, Adiembra, Kruwa, Nyamebekyere, Nuanua etc.

Most of these market centres especially, Nyankumasi-Ahenkro have dilapidated structures and no delivery bays. Trading in some of these market centres occur along the roadside e.g. NyankumaisAhenkro, Andoe, Ngresi etc.

Unfortunately, a new market facility which has been constructed at Andoe under the AgSIP /VIP programme is not being utilized.

The District Assembly has high on its agenda to:

1 Provide more physical structures at Nyankumasi-Ahenkro Market.
2 Relocate the traders at Andoe to the new market centre and
3 Construct new market centres at Assin Ngresi, Assin Nkran and Assin Darmang.

Table 16: List of the Various Market Centres and Trading Days to be updated by district revenue officer

Source: DPCU – ASDA

ROADS

Roads are a vital aspect of communication and trading. Good roads are prime movers of economic and social development of people. The map on Page x clearly shows that the road network is quite satisfactory, except in few communities where one needs to pass through other Districts. Currently, the District has a number of tarred roads though not in the best of conditions, they are the trunk road from Cape Coast through Nyankumai-Ahenkro, and Assin Manso to Kumasi, Nynkumasi/Ahenkro to Jakai and Nsuaem/Kyekyewere Town roads. The rest are untarred roads and seasonally get in very bad nature.

According to the Works Department of the District Assembly (Assin South District, 2016), the total road surface in the District is about 476km.This is made up of 74km Bitumen,182km Gravel and 214 km Earth.

Some of the notable bad roads that need urgent attention include:

1. Jakai – Kruwa
2. Ongwa-Nyamebekyere
3. Nyamebekyere–Asupanyin
4. Manso – Ochiso
5. Akrofoum - Amanbet

POST AND TELECOMMUNICATION:

POSTAL

The District has one post office in Nyankumasi/Ahenkro and another under construction at Nsuaem/Kyekyewere. There are Postal Agencies at Manso, Anyinabrim, Darmang, Nsuaem and Jakai (2010 PHC special report on 20 largest localities) Most of these agencies are in deplorable state, under staffed and need rehabilitation.

In recent times the service has come under serious threat due to globalization and the rapid growth of the telecommunication industry. However, the plan to rehabilitate and upgrade the post office at Nyankumasi could help provide higher order postal services in the District.

TELEPHONES

Cellular phone services as Telecommunication facility has assumed considerable importance in Ghana in recent times. The District is covered by MTN, Expresso, Vodafon, Airtel and Tigo. More so, the few public telephone facilities in the District have all broken down. However, there are few individuals operating cellular phone services on commercial basis.

The District Administration and other departments have no telephone lines. Indeed in terms of telecommunication, the District administration is not cut off from the rest of the country. However, with the erection of antennas at various locations including Nyankumase, Subinso & Manso by GIFC, MTN, Tigo and the others, it is hoped that the quality and coverage of the services of cellular phone providers would improve in the District.

Although, residents still depend on Postal services for communicating, the use of the telephone is faster, cheaper and reliable and therefore needs to be expanded.

ENERGY According to the 2010 PHC report, there are six (6) main types of energy, used for various purposes such as cooking and lighting. These include:

1. Wood
2. Coconut shell
3. Gas
4. Electricity and
5. Charcoal
6. others

Reports from the 2010PHC indicated that about 84.5% and 9.9% of the population use wood and charcoal respectively as a source of energy for cooking. This has serious implications for the already fragile forest resource. In view of the SEA analysis, it is important that communities and households are encouraged and assisted to plant more trees. In this direction, the forestry department and the GSOP are supporting communities to undertake afforestation projects.

Again, the promotion of the use of gas and energy saving coal pots could help address the deforestation problem.

ELECTRICITY

Access to electricity in the District is poor. According to the 2010 PHC whilst about 91.4% of households in Cape Coast have access to electricity, only 42% of that of Assin South enjoys it. Electricity needs to be supplied to other parts of the District. Currently, under Community Grid Extension System, it is expected that most communities would be linked to the National Grid. This intervention would not only promote small-scale industry, but also reduce rural-urban migration.