HEALTH
Health is one of the important sectors in the Municipal. The district has two systems of Health services delivery – The Orthodox and Traditional systems. These systems play complementary delivery of health services. The Municipal has the following facilities;
1 Government Hospital, 5 Health Centres, 22 CHPS compounds, However there is one private Hospital, a mission Hospital at Kwahu Praso and a Maternity Home at Nketepa.
Vegetation
The Municipal lies within the semi-deciduous forest zone. The vegetation is dense in terms of tree coverage with most trees shedding off their leaves in the dry season. Trees of economic value like Miliciaexcelsa (Odum), Sterculiarhinopetala (Wawa), Entandrophragmacylindricum (Sapele), etc are found in the forest. The forest is made up of three layers namely the upper, middle and lower layers. A greater part of the natural vegetation has been altered due to man’s activities on the land. This infringes on the sustainable development principles of the Municipal, hence a bane to development.
The forest however, remains in their natural state in the reserve areas. Among them is the Southern scarp forest (146.38km2), Oworobong South forest (41.75km2) reserves to mention but a few.
Education
Provision of decent School infrastructure in communities across the Municipal is key in ensuring equitable access to quality education. The realization of the objective of quality education therefore be a mirage without improved infrastructure and dedicated teachers. The Assembly in collaboration with the GES are doing their possible best to improve on the standard of education in the Municipal. the Municipal can boast of 59 Public KG’s, 69 Public Primary Schools, 50 Public JHS, 4 Public 2nd Cycle Institutions and 1 Public Technical Institute.
AGRICULTURE
The Economy of the Kwahu South Municipal is predominantly agrarian, over 44.7% of the population is employed by the sector. Crops such as Plantain, Cassava, Cocoyam, Yam, Onions, Garden eggs, Tomatoes and Pepper are grown by Farmers in he Municipal. With respect to grains and legumes, the commonest grown by Farmers are Maize and Beans, Fruits like Banana, Oranges and Pineapple are also cultivated.
The cultivation of exoticc vegetables is catching with Farmers in the Municipal. eg Green Pepper.
Climatic Conditions
Kwahu South Municipal lies within the wet semi equatorial region. It experiences the double maxima rainfall pattern namely major and minor seasons. The major rainy season starts from April, reaching its peak in July. On the other hand, the minor rainy season starts from September, ending in October/November. Annual average rainfall is between 350mm and 500mm. Rainfall intensity however, decreases towards the Voltarian basin. Mean monthly temperature ranges from as high as 30°c in the dry season to about 26°c in the wet season. It is worthy to note that the relatively higher altitude has moderating influence on the local temperature. Relative humidity ranges between 75% and 80% (Meteo Abetifi). This climatic pattern is good for food crop production and forest development.
Forest Zone
Communities on the Kwahu Ridge, KwahuPraso, Ntomem, Asikam, Mframa, Osubeng, Sukwa, Atuobikrom
Average of 13 days of rainfall per month
Savannah Zone
Communities along the Afram River
Average of 6 days of rainfall per month
Physical and Natural Environment
The Kwahu South Municipal is one of the twenty-six (26) Municipal Assemblies in the Eastern Region of Ghana. It was established in 1988 under L.I 1988, Act 1742. Mpraeso is the Municipal Capital. The Municipal shares common boundaries with Kwahu East to the North, Asante-Akim South to the West, the Kwahu West Municipality and East Akim Municipal to the South and Fanteakwa Municipal to the East. Specifically, it lies between latitudes 6°35” N and 6° 45”N and longitude 0° 55” W and 0° 20”W. The current size of Kwahu South Municipal is 602km².
The strength of Kwahu South Municipal lies in two major identified development areas of comparative advantage. These areas are agricultural and tourism sectors. Therefore, development plans of the Assembly have been geared towards improving the two identified areas with the aim of trickling down development in other sectors.
The Municipal has the advantage of experiencing mixed climatic conditions that may have both positive and adverse implications for its development but could also be used strategically by making the right choices at the right time.
Relief and Drainage
The Municipal lies within three physiographic regions namely the Southern Voltarian Plateau consisting of a series of escarpments Notable among them is the Kwahu Scarp rising from 220m to 640m above sea level. This scarp has two prominent mountainous peaks namely the Odweanoma and Apaku. The second physiographic region is the Forest Dissected Plateau which consists of steep sided Birimian rocks rising to heights up to 240m above sea level.The third physiographic region, the Plains, stretches into the Southern Voltaian Plateau, rising from 60m to 150m above sea level. Among the major rivers that drain the Municipal are the Afram and Pra rivers. The river Afram is a major tributary of the Volta and flows through the northern border of the Municipal with the Afram Plains.ThePra River takes its source from Kwahu Twenedruase and flows through Kwahu Praso where it leaves the Municipal.
Demographic Characteristics
The Municipal has a population of 80,755 as indicate by the table 3.6 of which 39,667 are males representing 49.1 percent and 41088 are females representing 50.9 percent. It can also be observed from the table that rural population (58,951) exceeds the urban population (21804). This implies that Municipal development should be skewed towards the rural areas to enhance their capacities and their main economic activities should be improved.
Sex ratio
The sex ratio (the number of males per100 females) of the Municipal stands at 90.3 percent which shows the predominance of females over males in the Municipal. It also implies that for every 100 females there is a corresponding 90 males.
Population Pyramid
Below gives a graphical presentation of age-sex structure of the Municipal. The figure shows a youthful structure that is characteristic of a developing country such as Ghana. The figure on the age-sex structure is broad based, comprising of concentration of children at younger ages. Figure 2.1 shows that a large new cohort is born every year as displayed at the bottom of the pyramid (ages 0-4 years). As cohorts age, they inevitably lose members either through death or migration or both. This is shown by the narrowing of the population at its peaks. Another feature of the Municipal population pyramid is that females in the oldest age groups form the substantial majority than the males.
Population size by locality of residence by Municipal and sex ratio
All Localities
Total 80,755 Male: 39,667 49.1% Female: 4,1088 50.9% Sex Ratio: 90.3 Percent of regional population: 2.6
Urban
Total 21,804 Male: 9,812 45.2% Female: 11,992 54.8% Sex Ratio 82.6 Percent of regional population: 1.6
Rural
Total 58,951 Male: 2,8296 48.3% Female: 30,655 51.7% Sex Ratio 93.4 Percent of regional population: 3.4
