The District Assembly

The Ahafo Ano South West District Assembly was established in 1988. The Assembly is made up of 62 members comprising 42 elected, 18 appointees,

The District Chief Executive and the Member of Parliament who is an Ex-officio member.

Functions Of The Assembly

Like all other District Assemblies in the country, Ahafo Ano  South West District Assembly is the highest Political and Administrative body in the district. The Assembly exercises both deliberative and legislative as well as executive functions.  Thus, it provides guidance, gives direction and supervises all other administrative authorities in the district.

The Assembly is the district planning authority and is responsible for the overall development of the District. It formulates and executes plans, programmes and strategies for effective mobilization and management of resources for the overall development of the district. The second schedule of L.I 1401 itemizes 86 functions of the District Assembly.

Institutional and Administrative Framework

The Assembly operates on Committee system. The highest Committee is the Executive Committee, which is chaired by the District Chief Executive.  The Executive Committee is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the district.

Sub-Committees

There are Seven Sub-Committees, which Service the executive committee. These are:

Finance and Administrative Sub-Committee

Social Services Sub-Committee

Works Sub-Committee

Justice and Security Sub-Committee

Public relations and Complaint Sub-Committee

Development Planning Sub-Committee

Environmental management Sub-Committee

The Sub-Committees have responsibility for collating issues relevant to the District Assembly.  These Committees deliberate on issues into greater details and submit their recommendations to the executive Committee for further deliberations and recommendations to the general Assembly.

Decentralised Departments

The decentralized departments in the district are to provide technical and professional support to the District Assembly especially through the Sub-Committees.

The District has 14 decentralised departments.  These are:

Ghana Education Service

District Medical Health Office

Department of Social Welfare

Department of Community Development

District Statistical Service

Public Works Department

Department of Co-operatives

Department of Agriculture

Controller and Accountant General’s Department

Department of Feeder Roads

Births and Deaths Registry

Town and Country Planning Department

Department of Rural Housing and Cottage Industry.

There are other departments which are not in place in the district.  These are:

Ghana Library Board

Department of Fisheries

National Fire Service

Department of Game and Wild life

Department of Parks and gardens.

One major problem of the Assembly is the absence of highly qualified professional and technical staff to man the departments. Some of the decentralized departments are headed by junior officers and this hampers efficient public sector management.

Furthermore, most of the existing decentralized departments do not have the full complement of staff and adequate logistical support.  Office and residential accommodation are inadequate and this accounts for the Assembly’s inability to attract officers to the district or retain staff posted there.

District Assembly Sub-Structures

The Ahafo Ano South West District Assembly is divided into Ten Area Councils, which is also sub-divided into 42 electoral areas.  There are also 155 unit committees.Table 26 shows the ten Area Councils and their headquarters.