Techiman, The City Of Citadel: Implications For Bono East Regional Capital

The city of Techiman is located in the Brong Ahafo region, 62km east of the Brong Ahafo regional capital Sunyani. Techiman is the capital of the Techiman Municipal Assembly and one of the eleven Districts/Municipalities that successfully petitioned the President for the creation of the Bono East region upon which a referendum was successfully organized. The city borders with four Districts/Municipalities namely, the Techiman North District to the north, Wenchi Municipality to the north-west, and Nkronza South Municipality to the southeast in the Brong Ahafo Region and Offinso North District to the south in the Ashanti Region. The city has a total land size of 649.0714 sq. km.

The population of the Municipality according to the 2010 Population and Housing Census stands at 147,788 with 71, 732 males and 76,056 females with a population density of 227.7 persons per every square kilometer. However, there are calls by researchers and civil society organizations alike to raise the Municipal to a metropolitan status because of its robust social and economic factors which are prerequisite for development.

There are also ensuing calls by the elites to consider Techiman as the Regional capital of the recently gazetted Bono East region on the grounds that there are already existing structures in the Municipality, which will lessen the cost to central Government regarding the construction of a new Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and its associated take off structures from the scratch.

The city has a well-planned urban layout. The suburban communities are linked to one another with connecting roads at average proximity of 1km or less apart. The city is heterogeneous composing of the natives and migrant populations from the northern fringes of Ghana and beyond. This is reflected in the names of settlements and communities like Mamprusiline, Sisalaline, Wangaraline and Hausalines among others. Nevertheless, the people are well composed, law-abiding citizens with high sense of civic consciousness. Their relationships are integrated into complex but simple systems of interaction which warrant development in an atmosphere of peace and tolerance.

The city of Techiman is blessed with large trading activities, strategically located to serve the people of Ghana and across the West African sub-region. The Techiman market, which has become a daily affair is believed to be the largest of its kind in the West African Sub-region. The city has earned itself the food basket of Ghana, thus attracting people of diverse destinations and generating huge sums of revenue for the government of Ghana. This positions the Assembly well to continuously fulfill its mandate of providing infrastructural development and social services to the Municipality.

Aside of the commercial factors, the municipality is endowed with fertile lands and good climate which support agriculture in all its forms including food and cash crops. The production of crops like cocoa, cashew and others make raw materials readily available for Agro-industries. The Municipality can boast of huge participation of industrialization. The Ghana Nuts Company is into Agro-processing as well as TEPCO which has plans to also process tomatoes.

Better still, investors and many other industries have shown the interest to invest in the areas of Waste Recycling, and fruit processing. The economic landscape is robust which has the potential to put the propose Bono East regional capital into creating more employment opportunities. Techiman is the commercial nerve center of the Brong Ahafo Region with a very active financial market. The city has a total of fifteen commercial banks and over thirty microfinance institutions as well as various insurance companies. Citing Techiman as the capital of the Bono East region will therefore further promote business activities of the Bono East Region through the much-recommended online transactions across the globe.

Agricultural and livestock practices are widespread in the Municipality. Dominants among them are cattle rearing, poultry and marine or aquatic farming. The Ghana Irrigation Development Authority is supervising irrigation farmers and also extending irrigation activities to cover other areas in the Municipalities. Resources set aside for this purpose could be channelled into other prioritized areas for a smooth take-off of the new region.

Historically, the people of Techiman are offsprings of a worrier group known in Ancient Ghana as the Bono. In the Akan cycles, they are referred to as “Akan Mu Opesie” to wit, the first child of the Akans. Their origin dates back to the 11^th century AD. The Bono territory/state is geographically situated between the savanna and forest zones of Ghana and grew to become a prime central location for trade activities. Bono was very instrumental in major ancient trade activities of both Trans -Saharan trade and Trans-Atlantic slave trade, with complex social systems stemming from chieftaincy dominance, and migration with unique settlement histories.

According to history, Nana Akumfi Ameyaw III, who traces his ancestry to King Akumfi Ameyaw I (1328-63), under whose reign the Bono Kingdom with its capital at “Bono Manso” grew to become the most powerful kingdom of its time. There are various festivals which are celebrated among the people of Techiman. These festivals are “Apoo”, Fofie, Yam festivals. The occasions are used to display the unity, cohesion and culture of the people. The festivals promote social interaction and settle family disputes among the people of the area. It also attracts both domestic and international tourists during the weeklong celebration.

Techiman and its environs are endowed with unique tourism potentials from natural and man-made perspectives. The natural environment is characterized by a supernatural ecology demonstrated by the Tano Boase sacred grove, the relics of Bono Manso, the former capital of Bono state, and the Atweredaa spiritual crocodiles in the stream along the main market square and many others. The Forikrom rock cave could be tested archaeologically to confirm for ancient habitation in relation to slave raid garrison for the purposes of boosting tourism in the area. The beautiful landscape of Techiman coupled with over 95 hotels well qualifies the city as a suitable place for a regional capital.

The Chieftaincy institution in the Techiman Traditional Area has a clear lineage thereby ensuring peaceful succession without the usual conflict which characterized some succession in other parts of the country. The Techiman Traditional Council is known for its vibrant efforts towards national development and has been keen in preserving the cultural heritage of the area.

The traditional council has also taken steps to reserve a 150m sq land for the Nkwantananso Cultural Centre to house artefacts and other relics of the Bono state in line with the call of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board to build museums in every Region and District across the country. The Nkwantananso Cultural Centre can be adopted as a regional museum of the Bono East Region. This will not only promote tourism and revenue mobilization but also serve as a vehicle to integrate the Bono East region’s diverse populations into a more unified society.

The rich historical background, vibrant existing social, economic structures among others of Techiman and its environs are far advanced to warrant the Municipality for a regional capital status of Bono East region.

The writer, Jobila M. Zakari is an anthropologist and a senior civic educator working with the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE)