Shai Osudoku, The Richest But The Poorest In Greater Accra-(Part I)

Shai Osudoku Constituency sits on a lot of riches but its constituents are the poorest in the Greater Accra Region. A comparison of the poverty indicators among the districts in the grater Accra region shows the level of poverty in the district.

The natural resources of the districts are highlighted to show the correlation between the resources and the level of poverty.

The Constituency which also doubles as the district is situated in the South-Eastern part of Ghana in the Greater Accra Region. The district occupies a total land area of about 968.361 square km.

The district has Dodowa as its capital. Dangme West District was split into two in June 2012 to have Ningo Prampram District and Shai-Osudoku District. It shares boundaries with the North Tongu District to the North-East, Yilo and Lower Manya Districts to the North-West, Akwapim North District to the West, Kpone Kantamanso District to the South-West, Ningo Prampram District to the South and the Ada West District to the East. The Volta River washes the North-Eastern portions of the district. (Credit: 2010 PHC, District Analytical Report)

The District Analytical Report again revealed that, the population of Shai Osudoku is about 51,913 of which 46% of the working population are into agricultural, fishing and forestry sectors. And about 80% of the working population are in the private and informal sectors. The predominant occupation is peasant farming.

According to the May 2015 edition of Ghana Poverty Mapping Report, a document prepared by the Ghana statistical Service, shows that Shai Osudoku District is the poorest in the greater Accra Region. In the report, indicators such as Incidence of poverty, depth of poverty and poverty inequality were used to assess the poverty levels of the districts.

According to the report the highest incidence of poverty is Shai Osudoku District with 55.1% and has a poverty depth of 23.2% also the highest in the region. Additionally, the report revealed that the distribution of poverty inequality in the region shows that Shai Osudoku was the worst performer with 40.1, and is the only district with inequality above the regional average of 37.6.

Moreover the league table of poverty incidence according to the report, rates the district as 28^th among other districts in the country. Additionally the 2014 league table of districts in Ghana, a research jointly conducted by UNICEF Ghana and the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD Ghana) Shai Osudoku placed 46^th but rose to 28^th on the 2015 league of districts in Ghana.

Meanwhile the district is endowed with a lot of natural resources more than any other district in the Greater Accra Region. The constituency has a waterfall called the Chenku Waterfall, which is the only waterfall in the region, and can be developed into a tourist site, the Shai Hills Game Reserve, and the Dodowa Forest.

The River Volta passes through villages like Volivo, Duffor and many other villages, but the best of the river is yet to be utilized. The land is also very fertile for mango, rice, and sugarcane farming.

The only natural resource that is currently being exploited is the Shai Hills Stone Quarry of which indeed the constituency is yet to benefit fully from its economic significance. The irrigation farms which existed some decades ago are no longer available. There used to be Asutsuare Sugar Factory, but since its collapse, the building are now being used as a Secondary School.

There are two Soldier camps in the constituency but the people of the land are not benefiting fully from them.

Despite all the above resources, a chunk of the rural folks cannot afford a three square meal daily. Youth unemployment is high, educational facilities are in a deplorable state and inadequate to address the educational needs of the people.

There are schools under trees and there are school children who still write on the floor because of lack of desks. The roads are also in bad state. There is no tertiary institution in the district.

From the analysis above, it can be concluded that Shai Osudoku constituency is the richest but the poorest in the Greater Accra Region. Despite the abundance of natural resources that are tapped and untapped, majority of the residents of the district are finding so hard to make ends meet as compared to the other districts in the region. There are more to be discussed in the next article on the subject matter. The constituency needs to be developed.

Wisdom Agbevey

President,

Youth for Change in Shai Osudoku Constituency (YOSCO),

Dodowa.