POPULATION SIZE AND GROWTH RATES

Figures from secondary sources for the 1960, 1970 and 1984 census reports indicated that the District’ population were 43,328, 56,313 and 78,923 respectively.  The 2000 Population and Housing Census put the entire population for the District at 102,310 (an increase of 33.3% over the 1995 estimate).  Table2 shows the population profile for the District, region and Ghana.

Based on the 2000 Population and Housing Census, it has been estimated that Kwabre East Municipal has a population of 102,310.The high population could be attributed to the proximity of the district to Kumasi Metropolis.  Major settlements in the district, especially those at the fringes of Kumasi (such as Ahwiaa and Kenyase), appear to have dormitory status to the metropolis, thus attracting increasing numbers of migrants.  This may be responsible for the high population growth rate of 4.5%.  This has resulted in increased pressure on infrastructural facilities like education, health, housing and others  creating additional demands on the social overhead capital of the District Assembly and also increase pressure on the limited arable land. 
 

SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION

According to the 2000 Population and Housing Census the district has a rural - urban split of 60:40, Sixty-two percent of the settlements have less than 1000 inhabitants and this implies that the District has a dominant rural settlement structure and so the development strategy should promote growth in the rural areas whilst managing the growth of the few urban settlements.

Settlements along the southern fringes of Kwabre East Municipal have grown into peri-urban settlements as Kumasi spreads into the District.

 The high population could be attributed to the proximity of the district to Kumasi metropolis.  Major settlements in the district, especially those at the fringes of Kumasi (such as Ahwiaa, Meduma, Mamponteng, Aboaso and Kenyase), appear to have dormitory status to the metropolis, thus attracting increasing numbers of migrants.

POPULATION DENSITY

The District has a very high population density when compared with the Regional and National averages.  Kwabre East Municipal has an average of about 691.28 persons per square km as against 147.6 persons per square km and 78.9 for Ashanti Region and the country respectively.  The high population density in Kwabre East Municpal may be attributed to its proximity to the Kumasi metropolis as lots of people reside in the District and commute to work in Kumasi on a daily basis.  This has consequently created overcrowding, especially in Ahwiaa, Meduma and Kenyase exerting pressure on existing social facilities. Anti-social problems are widespread, house occupancy is high, and there is high rate of degradation, thereby putting a lot of stress on the scarce resources of the District Assembly.

HOUSEHOLD SIZE

The average urban household size is 8.9 and that for rural areas is 8.8.  However, there are variations in the household size distribution in the District, ranging between single persons to 20 persons per household.

HOUSING DENSITIES

The average number of persons per house in the district is 20.7 with areas having an average of 28.5 persons in a house. The rural areas have an average of 14.5 persons in a house.  The average number of rooms per house is 8.3 whiles rural parts of the district have an average of 6.9 rooms in a house and urban areas have an average number of 10.0 rooms in a house.  This is an indication of excessive pressure on housing facilities and there is a large housing deficit.

RELIGIOUS COMPOSITION

In terms of religion, Christians dominate, comprising 67% of the population as shown in Table 3.  The Moslem population is also significant and represents 22% possibly due to the in-migration of settlers from the northern part of the country.

Paganism and traditional religion still persist in the District but insignificant.  The traditional religion which is made up of only 4.4% of the people in the District appears to be dying out.

AGE – SEX DISTRIBUTION

Males account for 50.4% of the total population and females 49.6%.  This gives a male – female ratio of 101 males to 100 females, which means that there are slightly more but insignificant males than females in the District.  Table 4 shows the population distribution by age and sex.

1.6.8 AGE DEPENDEs

The population distribution in Table 5 shows that about 47.7% of the population is in dependent age groups, that is those between 0 – 14 years and 65 years and over, and 52.3% constitute potential labour force in the District.  This gives an age dependency ratio of 0.91:1, implying that every person in the working age group takes care of himself / herself and an additional person.

There is the need for the creation of employment opportunities so that the active working population could cater for their dependants as well as the aged. The large percentage of population in the youth range calls for extensive investments in education, infrastructure and other social services to take care of the children. Additional investment is also required in health care delivery to cater for children and the aged.

MIGRATION TRENDS

Migration to Kwabre East Municipal is felt strongly in urban settlements, where 25% of residents are migrants as compared with 13% in rural areas.  This is due to the fact that urban settlements (such as Ahwiaa and Mamponteng) have the highest concentration of social amenities and economic activities, which present considerable attraction to migrants. 

The communal spirit within the most communities is high.  This is depicted by the contribution of these communities to donor funded programmes like Rural Water and Sanitation Programme.  Under Community Water and Sanitation Programmes, communities are expected to contribute 5% towards the provision of boreholes.  Aside this donor funded programmes; some communities initiate their own programmes and ask the Assembly for help. 

CHIEFTANCY DISPUTES

Most communities are peaceful due to the absence of chieftaincy and other conflicts. This peaceful situation has helped the development process of the district. Few of the communities in the District are saddled with chieftaincy disputes which do not augur well for development.  Because the people are divided along traditional lines, it becomes very difficult for the people to unite in order to embark upon any development programme.
 

IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT

The ethnic structure and its predominately homogenous nature have contributed to the stability of the District. Again, the absence of a specific festival which would serve as a rallying point for the people in the District hampers development.  There is therefore the need to put in place a festival that portrays the culture of the people. An Adikra festival to showcase the rich Adinkra cloth is being pursued to serve the purpose.

The high communal spirit when sustained can enable the communities’ contribute positively to the development of the communities.

SPATIAL ANALYSIS

This stage of the analysis deals with organization of human and economic activities in space with regard to Kwabre East Municipal. This approach to Development Planning is concerned with the social and economic functions that settlements perform and how in combination they form a pattern or system that can influence economic and social development in the District as a whole.

The approach uses a combination of methods to determine the spatial pattern or system of development.  Those considered important for analysis of the Kwabre East Municipal's Spatial Organization are:

Scalogram Analysis

Surface Accessibility Analysis

HIERACHY OF SETTLEMENTS

The hierarchy of settlements in the Kwabre East Municipal was distinguished by calculating the centrality index of each of the selected settlements as a percentage of the total weighted centrality index as illustrated in the figure. The Scalogram Analysis depicts the various facilities that are available in the District.

SCALOGRAM ANALYSIS

The scalogram is a graphic device that is illustrated in the form of matrix chart to show the distribution of functions of all selected settlements in a locality or district by their frequency of presence or absence.  The scalogram gives a good impression about the functions that settlements perform in a particular locality or District.  This assists in the determination of which settlements lack which services or facilities.

It is also useful in categorizing settlements in the district into levels of functional complexity.  The complexity serves as the means to the determination, in future the types and diversity of services of the District at various levels in a hierarchy.  In effect scalogram can be used to make decision about appropriate of investments for settlements in the district at different levels in the spatial hierarchy. In constructing the district scalogram, a total of 27 functions were considered for all the selected settlements. 

The settlements included in the analysis were selected using four (4) services as the cut-off point. Since the scalogram does not give any indication of quantitative and qualitative features of services and facilities, a weighting technique based on the frequency of occurrence of service was applied. The criteria for ranking of the settlements according to its facilities are given as follows:

1st rank covers between 550 and 370, 2nd rank ranges between 204 and 369.9.  the 3rd rank  are communities with centrality index between 91 and 203.9 whiles the 4th rank ranged between 20 and 90.9.

The facilities and services available were indentified and weighted. The total centrality index for each settlement was calculated by adding all the weighted centrality(the Total Centrality divided by the number of functions applicable to each settlement) For example, the index for Safo was obtained by: 4.3+4+3.8+3.7+3.8+8.3+4+3.8+6.7+7.1=45.9 (refer to table 6).

INTERACTION AND IMPLICATION OF THE CHARACTERISTICS

The performance of the District is influenced greatly by its various characteristics.  Its central location within the Ashanti Region puts it in a position to make the most of its resources in as much as it influences climate.  Due to its location in the wet Semi-Equatorial Climatic Region, it receives double maxima rainfall which has helped in the development of agriculture in the district.

Generally, surface accessibility is good.  This implies that movement from one part of the district to another is effective and would result in higher production levels in all sectors of the economy.  It would also help raise the level of skill development among the economically active labour force as a result of improved flow of information within Kwabre East Municipal.  The road network is also a key factor in attracting investment in the District as it facilitates movement of goods and service.

HUMAN SETTLEMENT PATTERN

Enhanced communication and spatial integration result mainly from the nature of transport services and transport networks that exist among the settlements.  The main modes for transport services and networks in the district comprise roads and footpaths.  The population is therefore limited to using only motor vehicles and their feet as means of transport. Transport services and networks determine the access of the rural and the peri-urban populations to functions and services within and outside the district.  The more efficient these linkages are, the less expensive the cost of transport, and the better the mobility of the population will be. Such linkages are fundamental for the development of agriculture and commerce-the main occupation in the district.

The municipal has a fairly spatially distributed road network.

The total length of road network is about 189.5km out of which 23.5km and 15km are bitumen surfaced and asphalted respectively.

Whereas the 80km third class roads are equitably spread throughout the district, 1st and 2nd  class roads are Ahwiaa to Asonomaso Junction through Mamponteng on the Kumasi-Mampong Highway; Asonomaso-Junction to Kasaam through Safo  and Kenyase-Antoa Roads.

All the third class roads in the district are motorable all year round. Apart from third class roads, which spread fairly throughout the district, the first and second-class roads are not fairly distributed.  The 15.5km Kumasi-Mampong Highway stretching through Ahwiaa, Mamponteng, through New Asonomaso. The 6km second class road stretches from New Asonomaso to Asonomaso and New Asonomaso-Safo-Kasaam through Adanwomase to Bonwire. This road stretches to link the Kumasi-Accra Highway at Ejisu.

The high density and dependability of roads make mobility of the population very high whilst cost of transportation less expensive.  The wide linkages make for better agricultural development and commerce.  Again, the high surface accessibility makes for ease of access to services like, health, education, markets and postal services in both the district and outside.