Traditional Set-up

The Ga Traditional leaders or chiefs are considered as the leaders in authority within their specified areas of jurisdiction. One peculiar characteristics of the traditional set-up is that most of the chiefs in the various communities in the municipalities have autonomy over their area of jurisdiction and can be classified as Traditional Chiefs.

Attitude and Practices of the people.

There is a positive correlation between attitude and work productivity. The attitude and practices of the people of the Municipality is generally good.  However, issues of multiple land sale, indiscriminate dumping of refuse and littering, child labour in the urban and peri-urban are

Festivals

The main festival of the people in the area is “Homowo” which goes with the sprinkling of “kpokpoi” to pacify traditional gods as well as collective eating of their favourite kpokpoi. Common dances are Kpanlogo, Agbaja, Gome, Boboobo, Kolomashie, Kinka, Asafo and Obonu.

Conflicts

Land disputes, building in protected areas, authorized development without adhering to the Planning Schemes are the main causes of conflicts in the Municipality. Such conflicts retard the development of the Municipality. Arable lands used for farming have being turned very fast into estate development.

Ethnicity

The dominant ethnic group in the Municipality is Ga followed by the Akan, Ewe and a mixture of other tribes who have migrated to the Municipality to either trade, farm and to do other menial jobs. However, Ga and Twi is the most widely spoken local language, followed by Ewe and other languages.

Religious Composition

With respect to religious composition, Christians, Traditionalist, and Islam constitute the population. The Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians dominates the religious affiliation with the population of 52,507(52%) followed by the Protestants of 25,712 (17%), and other Christians and Islam follows with 19,994 (11%) and 15,901 (10.0%) respectively. The Catholic also constitutes a population of 12,084 (4.9%) and 7282(0.9%) are traditionalist. A population of 10, 407 (2.8%) have no religious affiliation and 6089 (0.8%) constitute other religion.

Tourism Potential

Ablekuma West Municipal Assembly can boasts of rich cultural heritage as in festival such as the Homowo and as well as the various music and dance forms. There are also tourism opportunities for investment available within the Municipal. These include;

• Beach front development  

• Construction of modern hospitality infrastructure and services

• Development of the existing Dansoman children’s park and Kakari park

Strategic Roles and Location of the Municipal Assembly in the Regional Context

Apart from the political role that the Municipal Assembly plays in the region, It also performs the main administrative functions most of which are found in the Urban Centres including Dansoman etc. Dansoman serves as a major commercial hub in the Municipality. This gives Dansoman a status of a commercial center in the Municipality. Dansoman as the Municipal capital provides higher order social services and infrastructure; as the Municipal capital it has various high order social services enjoyed by most towns in the Municipality. (Thus, health, educational, financial services etc.). It also has the prerequisite infrastructure, which is necessary for attracting investments opportunities for the entire Ablekuma West Municipality. 

Thus, due to Dansoman location within the national grid, any project located within Greater Accra Region, has a connotation to its growth and development. This may be positive or negative, but it is relevant to acknowledge the existence of such relationships and incorporate it into the planning of the Municipality.