POVERTY HIGH IN MFANTSEMAN (PAGE 20, DEC 18)

The Mfantseman Municipality in the Central Region was created out of the Cape Coast District by Legislative Instrument 1374 in 1988. It covers an area of 612 sq km and forms 1.16 per cent of the land area of the region.
It is bordered on the west by the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese District, on the north by the Assin South District, on the east by the and the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam District and on the south by the Gulf of Guinea.
The two constituencies - Mfantseman East and West - are represented in Parliament by the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
It has a population of 170,883, which is 19.6 per cent of the total population of the Central Region. The percentage distribution is 45.9 per cent males and 54.1 per cent females with an annual growth rate of 3.0 per cent.
The municipality has 164 settlements with Saltpond as its capital. The urban settlements are Anomabo, Mankessim, Otuam and Yamoransa constituting one per cent of the population.
There are five traditional areas in the district - Anomabo, Ekumfi, Dominase, Mankessim and Nkusukum.
Fishing, constituting 51 per cent; farming, 30 per cent; and commerce, 19 per cent, are the main economic activities.
Currently, 52 per cent of the total population live below the poverty line (the figure is higher than the national average of 39.5 per cent.) with 34 per cent in the category of “hard core poverty”.
The area is served by the Saltpond Hospital and community health facilities including Community Based Health Promotion Services (CHPS).
Despite these health facilities, the cultural beliefs of the people tends to hinder health delivery because the people prefer to patronise prayer camps instead of visiting health centres.
Diseases such as malaria, HIV and AIDS and tuberculosis which have been on the ascendancy have significant socio-economic implications for the municipality. Persons aged between 20 and 49 years, which represents 86.5 per cent, are victims HIV and AIDS infections.
For instance in 2008, 14,621 cases of malaria, 229 of HIV and AIDS and 140 of tuberculosis were recorded. The key factors for the high increase in HIV and AIDS infection are poor paternity, lack of income-generating enterprises and broken families.
Other factors are lack of education facilities and potable water, poor road network, difficulty in land acquisition, inadequate access to credit facilities, inadequate storage facilities, high unemployment rate, among others.
The situation calls for urgent intervention in the area of poverty reduction, which is the current thrust of the government’s development policy direction in reducing poverty, especially in the rural communities.
Investment opportunities exist in tourism, agro processing, fisheries, industry and mining.
The Fort William at Anomabo, Fort Amsterdam at Abandze, Tantanquire at Otuam, Nananompow at Mankessim, the United Gold Coast Convention Office (UGCC) and that of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) at Saltpond, the Epitaph of George Ekem Furguson at Anomabo and the peculiar beach features at Hinii and Narkwa.
Agro processing, ceramics, pottery, canoe repairs and handicrafts are the major industrial concerns of the district.
The assembly is conducting feasibility studies into mining and processing of mineral resources, oil exploration, salt, clay and kaolin deposits.
Currently the Saltpond Offshore Oil Company produces 500 barrels of crude oil a day.
Incentive packages which have been lined up for potential investors include facilitating the acquisition, registration and documentation of land for investors, extension of utility services, water, power, communication facilities to project sites and a grant of one to five years tax holiday to prospective investors.
Besides, the assembly would enter into partnership with investors or facilitate partnership between foreign investors and their local partners. The trading centre at Mankessim provides ready distribution outlets for products of investors.
To speed up the strategy on poverty reduction and an accelerated development, the Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Benjamin Kweku Hayfron, said the municipal assembly would soon establish a rural technology facility at Mankessim and that it had started building a cold store at Kormantse to enhance the incomes of fishermen.
Mr Hayfron said it was also drawing plans for a modern market complex at Mankessim and that a group from Germany had already held fruitful discussions with the assembly in that direction.
The Mankessim market generates greater part of revenue for the assembly.
He said educational infrastructure, the road network, as well as good drinking water in the district, would be improved.
The Municipal Chief Executive said under the Community Based Rural Development projects classroom blocks were being built at Saltpond and Pomadze whilst sanitation facilities were being provided at Gyedu and Asaman.
Staff quarters for a judge is to be provided at Essakyir from the assembly’s own resources with sanitary facilities at Otuam and Nanaben.
Mr Hayfron expressed concern at the low revenue-generation of the assembly and advised traders to pay their taxes to improve its revenue base.
He expressed the hope that all and sundry would complement the assembly’s efforts to make life better fo r the people in the municipality.