MUNICIPAL PROFILE
1.1 Location and Size
Suhum Municipality is located approximately 60km from Accra, the national capital. It is situated in the South Eastern part of the Eastern Region between latitude 00 561 N and Lat 60 08 N and longitude 00 331w and Long 00 161w and covers a land area of about 359 square kilometer.
`In terms of spatial interaction, it is bordered anti-clockwise by the New Juaben Municipality to the north-east, East Akim Municipality in the north-west, Ayensuano District to the west and south, and Nsawam Adoagyiri Municipality in the east.
Vision Statement
An environmentally friendly and economically viable Municipality with adequate and accessible amenities for the people to actualise their dreams and enjoy peaceful co-existence.
Mission Statement
The Suhum Municipal assembly exists to constantly upgrade the quality of life of the people in the Municipality through the efficient mobilization and utilization of resources within an effective participatory local governance framework.
MAJOR SETTLEMENTS IN THE SUHUM MUNICIPALITY
The proximity of the Municipality to Accra and Tema is a potential for development.
For instance, the Accra–Tema conurbation provides the single largest market in the country and provides ready market for farm produce and industrial products from the Municipality.
Relief and Drainage
The Relief of the Municipality is generally categorized into two main divisions. These are: the Densu Plains, Asarekrom area in the extreme east overlooking.
The Densu Plains cover the Eastern half of the Municipality. The Densu plains are undulating with occasional isolated peaks which reach about 450 feet above sea level, and the other smaller once with a height of about 300 feet above sea level.
Demographic Characteristics
The Suhum Municipality is estimated to have a population of about 90,358 (2010 Population and Housing Census Report). The population density of the Municipality is 252 persons per sqkm. Population growth is estimated at 1.9% per annum which is lowerthan that of the country at 2.7% but slightly higher than the regional population growth rate of 1.4% per annum.
With a labour force of 57.4% of the total population, economic dependency ratio should stand at 1.35:1, which means some of the people in the working class are not economically active, accounting for 7.9% unemployment rate in theMunicipality.
The Urban-Rural split is 1:1.2, indicating for every ten (10) people in the urban areas, there are (12) twelve people living in the rural areas which in this part of the world constitutes deprive communities, devoid of mainly basic social facilities and services.
Ethnicity and Religion
The Municipality is predominated by Akan who constitute about 37.4% of the population. Ga-Adamgbes constitute about 25.6%, Guan make up 17.4%, and other Ewe constitute 17.4%. The remaining 2.2% are from other tribes, including Northern and other tribes. The dominance of the Akans has created a social cohesiveness, which is ideal for community development.
The total number of personnel manning the Municipality is 100, made up of four (4) senior officers and ninety-six (96) junior officers.
The Suhum Municipal Assembly was established by Legislative Instrument (LI) 2048 of 2012 as a result of the split of the former Suhum-Kraboa-Coaltarinto two. It is the highest administrative and political authority in the municipality. Section one (1) of the Local Government Act 1993 (Act 462) under which it operates, stipulates that the Assembly exercises deliberative, legislative and executive functions in the Municipal
It is responsible for the overall development of the Municipality by way of the preparation of development plans and the budget related to the approved plans.
The Municipal Assembly has in place Executive Committee as stipulated under section twelve (12) of Act 462.
The committee is headed by the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) who is recognized by section twenty (20) (2) of Act 462 as a political and executive head of the Municipal Assembly.
In compliance with the provision of section twenty-four (24) of Act 462, the Executive Committee has the following Statutory Sub Committees;
- Economic Development Planning Sub Committee
- Social Services Sub Committee
- Works Sub Committee
- Justice and Security Sub Committee
- Finance and Administration Sub Committee
Town and Area Councils
There are Three Zonal Councils, namely – Suhum Zonal Council, Akorabo Zonal Council and Nankese Zonal Council. The Suhum council has office accommodation while efforts are being made to provide the other two with office accommodation.
Table 31: Composition of Suhum Municipal Assembly
| No | Sub-Municipality Structures | No. of Members | No. of Unit Committees |
| 1
2 3 4 5
|
Suhum Zonal Council
Akorabo zonal Council Nankese zonal Council Government Appointees Member of Parliament
|
14
9 14 1
|
70
45 30 7 12
|
Source: Field Survey November, 2015