Background

The Berekum West District Assembly is one of the 260 Metropolitan/Municipal/District Assemblies in Ghana Berekum West District Assembly is one of the 12 administrative districts of the Bono Region. It was established by legislative Instrument (L.I. 2337) on 15^th March, 2018. Jinijini serves as the administrative capital of the district.  The Assembly has 27 Assembly Members-19 Elected and 8 Government Appointees. There are 4 Area Councils namely; Koraso, Nsapor, Jinijini and Fetentaa. There are 19 Electoral Areas and over 24 Settlements in the District. It was created in pursuance of deepening decentralization and good governance in Ghana.

The district profile comprises of the Physical and Natural Environment with respect to Location and Size, Climate and Vegetation, Mineral and Geology, Culture, Settlement Systems, Economy of the District, Food Security, Governance, Social Services, Vulnerability Analysis, Information Communication and Technology, HIV/AIDS, Gender, Environment, Climate Change and Green Economy, Population, Science, Technology and Innovation, Security, Disaster and other facilities/issues in the District. It also contains the analysis of the existing situation from survey information obtained which reveals the community problems, felt needs and development aspirations of the entire community and the District at large. This is to provide information where inferences can be drawn for appropriate recommendations to inform decision making.

Vision, Mission Statements and Functions of the District Assembly

Berekum West District Assembly is the central institution within the District responsible for planning, implementation and management of development programmes and projects. The Assembly exercises deliberative, legislative and executive functions. They have been established as structures to which they are assigned with the responsibility of integrating political, administrative and development resources to achieve more equitable allocation of power and wealth at the District.

 

Vision Statement of the District Assembly

A District geared “towards the equality of life and high standard of living by having access to all socio-economic services and also promote effective grass root participation geared towards the overall development of the district in partnership with other administrative authorities”.

Mission Statement of the District Assembly

The Berekum West District Assembly exists “to improve upon the quality and standard of living of the people in a more coordinated manner and also provide socio-economic services to the people by expediting the maintenance of law and order for a more harmonious and uniformed environment through the formulation of policies in collaboration with stakeholders”.

Functions of the Berekum West District Assembly

The Berekum West District Assembly was created as a pivot of the administrative and development decision making body and the basic unit of Local Government Administration. Subject to the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936), the District Assembly shall exercise political and administrative authority, provide guidance, give direction to and supervise all other administrative authorities in the district.

Section 10 (3) of Act 936 prescribes the functions of the Assembly as follows:

Responsible for the overall development of the district. The District Assembly ensures the preparation and submission of Development Action Plans through the Regional Co-coordinating Council to NDPC and budgets to the Ministry of Finance for approval.

• Formulate and execute plans, programmes and strategies for the effective mobilization of the resources necessary for the overall development of the District.
• Promote and support productive activity and social development in the district and remove any obstacles to initiate development;
• Initiate programmes for the development of basic infrastructure and provide district works and services;
• Be responsible for the development, improvement and management of human settlements and the environment in the district;

• In co-operation with the appropriate national and local security agencies be responsible for the maintenance of security and public safety in the district;
• Ensure ready access to courts in the District for the promotion of justice;
• Initiate, sponsor or carry out such studies as may be necessary for the discharge of any of the functions conferred by this Act or any other enactment

Composition of the District Assembly

The District Assembly constitutes members that form the head of legislation and deliberation about the issues of the District. There are twenty-seven (27) Assembly Members in Berekum West District Assembly. The numbers of Assembly Members who represent the various electoral areas are nineteen (19) and the government appointees constituting eight (8) Members. Women constitute two (2) of the twenty-seven (27) Assembly Members representing 7.4% of the total Assembly Members. Males on the other hand constitute 92.6%.

This implies that there is the need to empower women in the District to be more involved in the governance and decision making. This will invariably result in the larger presence of females in Assembly structure.

The District also has one (1) constituency with the Member of Parliament as an ex-officio member of the District Assembly.

Table 1: Sex Compositions of Assembly Members

Sex Members	Males	%	Females	%	Total	%
Elected Members	19	70.4	0	0	19	70.4
Government Appointees Appointees	8	22.2	2	7.4	8	29.6
Total	27	92.6	2	7.4	27	100

Source: DPCU, BWDA, 2018

 

 

Area Councils in the Berekum West District Area

There are four (4) Zonal Councils in the Berekum West District. They are listed in the table below

 

Table 2: Area Councils in the District and their locations

No.	Name of Area Council	Location
1.	Jinijini Zonal Council	Jinijini
2.	Nsapor  Zonal Council	Nsapor
3.	Koraso Zonal Council	Koraso
4.	Fetentaa Zonal Council	Fetentaa

Source: DPCU, BWDA, 2018

Statutory and Non-Statutory Sub-Committees of the District Assembly

A number of established Sub-Committees function as the operating arms of the Executive Committee and assist in the implementation of special activities of the Assembly. The Statutory Sub-Committees of the Berekum West District Assembly are as follows:

• Development Planning Sub-Committee.
• Social Services Sub-Committee.
• Works Sub-Committee.
• Finance and Administration Sub-Committee.
• Agricultural and Education Sub-Committee

Apart from the above Statutory Committees, the Assembly has other two (2) Sub-Committees namely:

• Environmental  Sub-Committee
• Justice and Security Sub-Committee.
• PRCC

The Sub-Committees have the responsibility for collating issues relevant to the District. These Committees deliberate on issues into greater details and submit their recommendations to the Executive Committee for further deliberations and recommendations to the General Assembly.

The Public Relations and Complaints Committee is a committee in the District Assembly which is chaired by the Presiding Member (PM) to address public complaints and well-being of the Assembly.