Introduction

Ashaiman Municipal Assembly covers a total land area of about forty five (45) square kilometers with a population size of 190,721 according to the 2010 Population and Housing Census. It was carved out of the then Tema Municipality, now Tema Metropolitan Authority, as one of the newly created Districts in 2008 by LI 1889 and Local Government Act of 1993 (Act 462). The Local Government Act of 1993 (ACT 462) and the National Development Planning System Act of 1994 (ACT 480) designate the Municipal Assembly as the Planning Authority with the mandate to plan, initiate and implement development programmes at the local level.

Physical Features

Ashaiman Municipality is located about 4km to the North of Tema and about 30km from Accra, the capital of Ghana. Whiles Tema is situated on the Greenwich Meridian on the Longitude 00, Ashaiman falls within Latitude 5° 42’ North and Longitude 0° 01’west. Ashaiman shares boundaries to the North and East with Kpone-Katamanso District and to the South and West with Tema Metropolis. Ashaiman covers a total land area of 45km2. Its proximity to Tema and Accra makes it easy for community members to have access to high level social facilities and infrastructure such as good roads, water, Hospitals and electricity. It also serves as a dormitory town for workers in most industries in the Tema Township.

The area is underlain by the Precambrian rocks of the Dahomeyan formation: metamorphic rocks mainly consisting of granite, gneiss and schist probably derived from sedimentary layers. These rocky formations are weathered or decomposed at the surface with a thickness (of the weather component) not exceeding 12m in the area. The soils are mostly sandy clays which are suitable for the cultivation of vegetables: okro, peppers, cabbage, cucumber are major vegetables produced in urban gardens. Most crop farmers in Ashaiman therefore cultivate these crops and market them to surrounding restaurants and hotels.

 The relief of the area is generally flat and forms part of the Accra-Togo plains. However, there are isolated hills in the general area but even these barely reach 65m high. The relief makes it easy for construction of roads and drains.

Ashaiman lies within the Accra-Togo plains, and therefore experiences a climatic condition that extends from the east coast of Ghana into Togo. Rainfall in this area ranges from 730mm to 790mm.
The rainy season starts from April to July (the major season) and September to November (the minor season).

 Temperatures are high throughout the year. March – April is usually the hottest period with temperatures reaching 32ºc during the day and 27ºc at night. Cooler temperatures occur from May - September with a range of 27-29°c during the day and 22-24°c in the night. Humidity varies with the seasons with a height of 60-80% in the wet season and less than 30% in the dry periods. The vegetation consists of savannah grasses and shrubs due to the low rainfall regime. However, as a result of human activities, the natural vegetation no longer exists.

 Ashaiman has well engineered drains along major roads in the township. Drainage within the residential units is, however, very poor as there are no well-engineered drainage system, Creating problems of liquid waste disposal within these units. This situation compounds the already existing problem of sanitation in the Municipality. Most of the drains along the major routes are also choked.