Summary of Community Needs and Aspirations

Provision of potable water

Provision of health facilities

Construction of drains

Construction of recreational centres

Preparation of development schemes

Provision of public and household toilets

Construction of landfill sites and sanitation treatment plants

Provision of teacher’s accommodation

Construction/Rehabilitation of classrooms and a model Day Care Centre

Training Day Care Assistants

Construction/Rehabilitation of roads

Provision of accommodation for workers

Provision/Rehabilitation of markets

Supply of electricity

Provision of security

Provision of lorry parks

Strengthen sub-district structures

Make the DPCU functional

Establish data bank

Summary of Harmonized Identified Key Development Issues

Inadequate potable water supply, sanitary facilities and health facilities

Poor and inadequate social infrastructure like roads, housing and lorry parks

Poor academic performance

Inadequate economic infrastructure like markets and electricity

Poor environmental sanitation Inadequate agriculture inputs/credit Non-functioning of sub-district structures Inadequate security situation Low level internally generated fund

Vulnerability

The Department of Social Welfare as one of the decentralized departments has been charged in the district to champion the course of the Vulnerable. The vulnerable groups identified in the district include;

The disabled
Children and Women

Children are also identified in the district as belonging to the vulnerable group. Some children in the district are neglected by their biological fathers who fail to send them to school. Others also roam about in the communities without any care from any body, not even close relatives. From 2002, cases that have been registered and handled by the Social Welfare Department are indicated in 

Identified key problems of the vulnerable in the district include;

Lack of skill training for the disabled to make them more employable

Lack of support to set up businesses in the case of those who have already acquired some skills

Discrimination among disabled persons

Difficulty in getting life partners in marriage.

In the case of the children the key identified problems include;

Inadequate care, maintenance and supervision of children by their parents.

Broken homes

Single parenthood in the case of females

Child delinquency

Lack of juvenile cells for children in conflict with the law.

Early Childhood Care-and Development (ECCD)

Early childhood care and development is a range of services to promote survival, growth, development and protection of young children up to the age of six years. These services are Nurseries and Kindergartens. In the district there are both public and private Day Care Centres and Nurseries (See table 1.47)

Identified key problems of the vulnerable in the district include;

Lack of skill training for the disabled to make them more employable

Lack of support to set up businesses in the case of those who have already acquired some skills

Discrimination among disabled persons

Difficulty in getting life partners in marriage.

In the case of the children the key identified problems include;

Inadequate care, maintenance and supervision of children by their parents.

Broken homes

Single parenthood in the case of females

Child delinquency

Lack of juvenile cells for children in conflict with the law.
Early Childhood Care-and Development (ECCD)

Early childhood care and development is a range of services to promote survival, growth, development and protection of young children up to the age of six years. These services are Nurseries and Kindergartens. In the district there are both public and private Day Care Centres and Nurseries.

The teacher population for the centres is 338. Within the nine circuits of the District the centres are distributed as in table 1.48

There are six more private centres yet to be registered. Some of them are, Drobonso SDA, Effiduase God of Hope American Co-operative International, Nkwankwanua Methodist KG and Mahinso SDA.

Problems of the ECCD in the District

These include:

Poverty among most parents. Some of the children in most of the centres are not fed at home before they go to the centres, which also do not feed them.

Lack of and inadequate facilities (furniture, accommodation and others) in most centres.

Lack of and inadequate trained staff, particularly at the private centres.

The way forward

More centres should be built to accommodate the increasing number of children in the district.

The centres - both private and public, should be well equipped with suitable furniture and teaching and learning aids.

Periodic workshops should be organized for the caretakers of ECCD centres to upgrade their knowledge and skills.

Gender Issues

According to the 2000 Population and Housing Census the female population in the district constitutes about 49.3 percent of the total district population of 15,7396. And the male population in the district is slightly more than the female population.

Women in the district like their male counterparts have contributed and continue to contribute to the socio-economic and political development of the district. A survey conducted in 2006 revealed that women form the majority in the areas of agriculture and commerce. Of the 66 percent of the people engaged in agriculture in the district, women constitute about 34 percent. Also of the 18 percent of the people engaged in commerce in the district, women constitute about 14 percent.

In all sectors of the economy, women play some leading roles. On the political scene, women in the district are not left out, though they are in the minority. Out of the total of seventy-two Assembly members in the District, thirteen are women. Table 1.49 shows the distribution of women in position in the various sectors of the district economy.

The 15.2 percent of women in positions in the district as compared to the males (84.8 percent) may seem very small, the impact of women activities in the district is tremendous and commendable.

At the basic school level, the performance of the girls at the BECE has improved over the years, due to the girl-child education sponsorship package given to the schoolgirls by the Assembly and other motivations given to the girl-child by the District Education Directorate.

Key identified gender issues in the District

Single parenthood among women (about 67 percent)

High illiteracy rate among the youth (particularly in the rural areas)

High birth rate

Lack of employable skills for the youth in the district

Child neglect

Maltreatment and abuse of women by men, e.g. Rape

Teenage Pregnancy

The Way Forward

The youth should be empowered through education and training in employable skills through the collaboration between the Assembly, traditional authorities, parents/guardians and development partners.

Women in particular should be encouraged to participate in all socio-economic and political activities in the localities.

Child panel should be established, well equipped and supported to protect and promote the welfare of children in the district.

The youth (girls in particular) should be educated periodically on the potential dangers associated with teenage pregnancies.

Women in the district should be given recognition and due respect by their male counterparts, since a society without women would be an unpleasant one. Rapists should be given severe punishments by higher sentences to imprisonment of not less than ten years with hard labour.

The Departments of Social Welfare, Community Development and Women Desk Unit in collaboration with the District Assembly should organize periodic education for the populace on the consequences of child neglect, high birth rate and single parenthood. All these would go a long way to promote the welfare and position of both men and women in the district.