Historical Background

Winneba is traditionally known as ‘Simpa’ which was derived from the name of the leader of the Effutus ‘Osimpa’ who led the Effutus of the Guan ethnic stock from the Northern part of Ghana to the present location. The name Winneba originated from European Sailors who were often aided by favourable wind to sail along the bay. From the constant use of the words ‘windy bay’; the name Winneba was coined.

The town was one of the first communities in the country to come in contact with European traders, it served as a port where foreign goods were discharged and transported to the interior and major commercial areas such as Agona Swedru and Akim-Oda.

Due to its role as harbor town and a place of early European settlers, it became the administrative capital of the then Central Province of the Gold Coast. The cocoa boom in the forest areas led to the relocation of major trading companies in the 1940s to Agona Swedru and this started affecting the growth of the town. The township suffered even greater loss when the Tema Harbour was completed; the port activities at Winneba were thus shut down and relocated to Tema. With that, most of the commercial activities also shifted from Winneba to Tema and Accra.

Administrative Background

The Effutu Municipal Assembly is one of the 216 Administrative Districts in Ghana and one of the 20 districts in the Central Region. It has one Constituency, Eighteen (18) Electoral areas and Seventy-Three (73) Polling stations and one paramount seat. There are four Zonal Councils in the Municipality namely; 1. Nsuekyir/Gyahadze Zonal Council, 2. Kojo-Beedu North/Low Cost Zonal Council, 3. South-East Winneba Zonal Council and 4. South-West Winneba Zonal Council.

The Effutu Municipal Assembly was established by the Local Government Act (Act 462) and by L.I.1860 in 2007.  Winneba is the administrative capital of the Municipality; a town renowned for the several specialized major institutions of higher learning that it contains. The Municipal Assembly is made up of twenty-eight Assembly persons and this comprises; the Municipal Chief Executive, Eighteen (18) Elected persons, Eight (8) Government Appointed members and one (1) Member of Parliament. Out of the twenty-eight (28) members, only four (4), representing 14% are women; thus 2 elected and 2 appointed.

The Effutu Municipal Assembly was carved from the then Awutu-Effutu-Senya-District Assembly. It is sandwiched by Gomao East district on its Western, Northern and Eastern flanks. The southern flank is the Gulf of Guinea. It covers a total land area of 64 square kilometers. It is located between latitudes 5°16’ and 20.18”N and longitudes 0°32’ and 48.32’’W of the eastern part of Central Region