Overview

Offinso Municipal has a total population of one hundred and forty-three thousand, and ninety- eight (139,204) people. The sub-districts are Abofour, Anyinasuso, Bonsua, Kwagyekrom and Offinso Central which have percentages of the population; 26.4%, 14.8%, 12.3%, 5.2%, and 41.3% respectively.

Figure 1 Map of Offinso Municipal

Settlement

There are eighty-two communities and hamlets, made up of mixed settlements i.e. Urban, Peri- urban and rural areas. The Municipality experiences Wet Semi-Equatorial type characterised by moderate to heavy rainfall annually with temperature ranging between 21oC and 32oC. The rainfall regime is double maxima with annual rainfall between 125 and 175 centimetres. The average annual rainfall is 953.40mm. The major rainy season usually occurs between May and

June, followed by a dry spell between August and September. The minor rains occur between September and November followed by dry Harmattan till February. The favourable climate supports farming activities in the Municipality. Majority of the populace are engaged in farming and trading. Main crops cultivated are: cocoa, plantain, yam, cocoyam, maize and tomatoes and oranges, due to large vast of forest available in the municipality.

Demographic characteristics/socioeconomic activities.

The Municipal Health Service is organized around 5 sub municipalities namely; Bonsua, Abofour, Offinso Central, Anyinasuso and Kwagyekrom with a projected population of 139,204 and a growth rate of 2.1% annually.

Table 1: Population Distribution of Offinso Municipal (Source: first quarter report 2024)

Economic Activities and Traditional Values.

Fair view of the district reveals Public Services, trading as dominant in its occupation scene, followed by farming. Besides, sizeable proportion of the working force in the district are unemployed reflecting the middle-income level. The major festival, called “Moaninko” is celebrated once every four years led by the Omanhene of the Offinso traditional area.

Health System and Infrastructure.

The Municipality Health Services are organized around 5 sub municipalities namely; Bonsua, Abofour, Offinso Central, Anyinasuso and Kwagyekrom.

There are seven (7) health facilities with the ownership being government/public, CHAG and private. Due to the absence of a municipal government or public hospital, St. Patrick’s Hospital is earmarked as the Municipal hospital. In addition, there are 4 functional CHPS compounds and 30 CHPS zones with the respective CHO’s assigned.

There are also 76 trained TBA’s and 61 CBSV’s.

Table 2 Registered Health Facilities by Sub Municipals in Offinso Municipal (Source: Annual Report, 2023)

Sanitation

The only settlement that has layout is the Municipal capital, Offinso New Town. The housing environment in the Municipality, especially Offinso New Town and Abofour townships is characterised by poor drains, heaps of surface dumps, unkempt surroundings, exposed foundations due to pronounced erosion and cracked walls especially in the rural areas. Only about 6% of the houses in the Municipality have internal toilet facilities. About 85% of the occupants mainly depend on public toilets such as KVIPS’ and pit latrines. More who 90% of households use the public dump to dispose of solid waste which is relatively insignificant is burning of the waste.

There is high proportion of households throwing waste elsewhere, especially in Offinso New Town and Abofour has a very serious financial and health implication. The Assembly uses large sums of money for cleaning of gutters which could have been used for other development needs of the assembly.

The prominent method of liquid waste disposal is throwing it on open space, bushes and in gutters. Potable water supply in the Municipality is highly inadequate apart from New Offinso which has access to pipe-borne water all the other communities rely on bore holes, wells, ponds and streams for drinking and domestic use.