Geographical Setting
The Upper West Region, the youngest of the ten regions of Ghana was carved out of the former Upper Region in 1983 with the view to accelerating development of the said area since it is quite remote from Bolgatanga, the regional capital of the former Upper Region.
The region is located in the north-western corner of Ghana. To the north, the region shares borders with the Northern Region. To the east it share borders with the Upper East Region and to the north and west, it is bordered by Burkina Faso. The Black Volta forms a natural boundary in the west between the region and Burkina Faso.
The region has an estimated landmass of 18,476km2. The region is divided into eight administrative districts, thus Wa East, Nadowli, Jirapa-Lambuisie, Lawra and Tumu. These districts are further broken down into eight constituencies.
Topography
The region has an almost entirely rolling topography, especially west of Wa and around Lawra, better referred to as the Wa-Lawra plains. The height of the land is generally between 275m and 300m above sea level, except eastwards of Wa where the land rises above 300m above sea level. Further eastwards of the capital, the land falls to a height of about 150m above sea level.
Drainage
The region is dissected by a number of streams such as the Bole, Molebele, Fuyien, Banaghasis among others, which are extensions of the Black and White Volta. An important characteristic of these rivers is their seasonal flow. The source of water supply for the rivers is rainfall. They get supply for the rivers are rainfall. They get flooded during the rainy season and completely dry up during the dry season.
Climate
The climate of the Upper West Region is not entirely different from that in the Upper East and Northern regions. It is the tropical continental type. The two basic elements of climate are rainfall and temperature.
Rainfall
The region, like the other parts of the north, experiences single maximum rainfall. There is only one rainy season ranging from April-September, and records an annual figure of about 115cm. This is followed by a prolonged dry season. The population solely depends on rainfall to cultivate crops like guinea corn, maize, groundnuts, cotton, yam cowpea, sorghum, etc.
Temperature
The mean monthly temperature ranges between 21C and 32C. Temperatures rise to their maximum (40c) in March, just before the onset of the rainy season. Temperatures fall to their minimum (20c) in December during the harmattan (North East Trade winds).
Soils
Many types of soil are found in the region. They include the Savanna ochrosols, tropical brown yeast, terrace soils found along the banks of rivers and streams, and groundwater laterites. The soil types favour the cultivation of the crops mentioned above. One crop also commonly cultivated on the terrace soil type is tobacco.
Vegetations
The region is located in the Guinea Savanna belt. Trees such as the baobab, shea acacia, dawadawa, etc which have the ability to withstand draught are mostly found. In the dry season, most of the trees shed off their leaves and blossom with the onset of the rainy season. The trees are scattered several metres apart. This limits the infestation of tsetse flies and allows the grazing of animals such as cattle.
Bush fires continue to be an annual feature of the region in spite of efforts being made to stop them. Hunting activities, gathering of sheanuts and land preparation for farming predominantly cause fires.
Population
According to the 2000 Population and Housing Census, the Upper West Region has a population of 576,583 people. This figure implies the region has a population density of about 33 persons/km2. The areas where the density is high, there are the big towns such as Wa, Tumu, Jirapa, Nandom, Lawra, and Hamile.
The rest of the settlements have population figures less that 5,000. Further east and south-east of Tumu the density reduces to 5 persons per km2. This is the Tumu Gap, part of the Middle Belt of Ghana which, as a result of several factors, ranging from historical to the poor nature of the land is the least inhabited area of the country. However, towards the Western corridor, as can be seen by the number of towns which have population figures over 5,000, density can be as high as 95 persons per km2.
The 2000 Population and Housing Census further revealed that a significant number of people from the region, forming about 22.6% of the total population reside outside the region.
Ethnicity
The three major ethnic groups are the Dagaabas, Wala and Sissala. The Lobis are a significant tribe in the region. Notwithstanding the long periods of intermarriages, those ethnic groups still maintain some salient cultural features.
One significant factor about the population of the two upper regions is the seasonal out-migration of the people, especially the youth to the southern part of the country, where life is comparatively better. A short rainy season poor soils, inadequate infrastructure, absence of industries and inadequate job opportunities in the region are driving people from the region. These are relatively abundant in the south which is the destination of most of the migrants. These problems, coupled with a long dry season (From October to April), also a period when of the emigration takes place seem to justify this movement.
Another socio-demographic factor is the large family sizes, and a consequent high rate of dependency. The 2000 Population and Housing Census revealed that a total of 286,652 of a population of 576,583 of the Upper West Region were in the dependency bracket forming 49.7. In Ashanti, the dependency ration is lower, 48.1%, in Brong Ahafo it is 47.5%. While in the Western Region it is 46.9% perhaps the low level of education and large Catholic and Muslim populations offer the explanation to this phenomenon. While it is an undeniable fact that family planning methods and policies hardly succeed among illiterate population; the two religions who do not embrace modern family planning methods cannot wholly divorce themselves from the problem of large family sizes in the region. As shall be known later, the major religions of the people in the Upper West Region are Christianity, (Catholicism being dominant), Islam and Traditional Religion.
Culture/Tradition/Religion
The predominant religions are Christianity, Islam and Traditional religion. Traditional life and beliefs, like elsewhere in the country, are more prominent in the rural areas. The notable festivals are the Damba festival in Wa, Dembenti among the Dagaabas, Kobine in Lawra, and Kakube in Nandom.
Chieftaincy
Chieftaincy is a respected institution especially among the Walas and is a major medium for community mobilization. In Sissala land, the title Koro (e.g Tumu Koro) is used whilst Naa (e.g Wa Naa) is used in other districts. There are 21 paramountices (Jirapa-Lambussie 2, Lawra 3, Nadowli 7 Sissala 5 and Wa 4).
Family and Kinship
Inheritance is patrilineal except the Lobis who, like the Akans in southern Ghana have a matrilineal inheritance system. Marriage is generally polygamous, with the extended family system making sharing of resources the order of the day. The family reflects male dominance and consequently the relatively low status of women in the region.
The native Sissalas trace their lineage to one great ancestor who migrated from the Dagbon Kingdom in the Northern Region, precisely Savelugu. They therefore regard themselves as one family. There are therefore no inter-marriages among the native Sissalsa.
Values and Taboos
The communities in the region value virtues such as respect, obedience, and kindness/hospitality. Among the Sakai, it is a taboo to eat from a pot that is not fired or kiln-baked. Also, the wood of N’naha Toli a very old bou-bou tree is not used as woodfuel because the tree is their totem.
Political Administration
Taking its present name from its geographical location, the Upper West Region has existed under different names in the past. Christened the Black Volta administrative district in 1898, it became known as the North Western Province in 1907 enjoying full provincial autonomy. Later in 1960, however, the Northern Region was carved out of the Northern territories and what remained become the Upper Region.
As mentioned in earlier paragraphs, the Upper West Region is the youngest of the ten regions of Ghana having been created in 1983 in pursuance of the decentralization programme. It is therefore the youngest and least resourced in the country. It has eight (8) districts namely: Wa Central, with Wa as the Regional Capita, Nadowli, Jirapa/Lambussie, Lawra/Nondom, Wa West, Wa East, Sissala West and Tumu.
At the apex of the political/administrative arrangement is the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) whose basic role is to coordinate, harmonise, monitor and evaluate the activities of District Assemblies as well as Government departments in the region. The Regional Coordinating Council is made up of the Regional Coordinating Council is made up of the Regional Coordinating Council is made up of the Region Minister as head with all district Chief Executives and Presiding Members of District Assemblies, two representatives of the Regional House of Chiefs, a representative of the National Development Planning Commission, as members. Regional heads of departments are ex-officio members of the Regional Coordinating Council. The region has an urban council in Wa and four town councils (Jirapa, Lawra, Tumu and Nandom) and area Councils. In addition there are 618 unit committees in the region.
Pre-and Post Independent Political and Economic Strategies that Led to the Under Development of Northern Ghana
Historical and Regional Overview
Education
The low level of education in the Upper West Region and for that matter northern Ghana has been the concern of many people, especially of northern exaction. The reasons for this situation is partly due to the slow progress in the development of the north.
The following statistics on education were obtained form the 2000 Population and Housing Census: Out of 326.311 people in the Upper West region who are form age 15 years and above 242,301 had no formal education. This figure is 75.5% of those above this age. In Brong Ahafo it was 552.886 out of 1,033,609, that is 53.5%. In Ashanti it was 845,901 out 2,096121, that is 40.4%. In the Central Region, one of the poorest regions in Ghana, it was 506,905 out of 1,108,272 that is 45.7%.
The above statistics revealed that, even as late as 2000, educational achievement was nothing to write home about in the Upper West Region.
The history of the development of education in the Upper West Region is intricately linked to the situation in the northern portion of Ghana, comprising Upper West Region , Upper East Region and Northern Region (then known as the Northern Territories)
Development policies on the Northern Territories NT were formulated and implemented by the colonial masters as far back as the early 1900s. During this era, the colonial administration deliberately discriminated against the North. To the colonial administration, once the North did not possess exportable minerals, it was not economically viable to invest there. The region was therefore ignored.
While in Southern Ghana formal education (schooling) started in the 1800s, the first primary school to be opened in the Upper West, precisely Wa was in 1917. Two years later, another school was opened in Lawra, to serve the then Lawra, to serve the then Lawra Tumu District.
In 1951, the Catholic Church opened a middle school in Nandom. Until then, boys who attended the few primary schools, traveled to Navrongo in the Upper East Region to continue their education.
The Native Authority (Local Council) was enthusiastic to promote education in the region, they were however frustrated by the colonial Government’s policy of maintaining the North as a labour reserve for the mines and cocoa farms in the south.
By 1946, there was only one secondary school in the whole of the Northern Territories – The Government Secondary School at Tamale. In view of limited vacancies, majority of northerners could not attend and therefore terminated their education after middle school.
Lack of trained teachers of northern extraction was also another problem which affected education in northern Ghana as a whole. The first Government Teacher Training College in the Northern Territories was opened in 1944. The Upper West Region benefited from this as the graduates of the school helped to open schools in a number of villages notably Nandom, Erennon and Duori.
The first government secondary school in the Upper West Region was opened in 1968 in Lawra. The Catholic Church also later opened schools at Nandom in 1968. At the close of 1990, there were only five secondary schools in the whole of the Upper West Region. Three of these were built by the Catholic Church. By 2002, there were several other schools opened under the new Educational Reform Policy. Some of these schools, however, are mere structures or shadows of their real selves.
Female Education
While there were exclusively girls’ schools in the colony and Ashanti by 1915, there was no such facility in the North for a very long time. It was in 1940 that the Catholic Church established a girls’ primary school at Jirapa. The colonial administration was hostile to the efforts by the Catholic Church. In 1946 the Catholic Church defiant of the government’s policy opened a girls’ middle school was opened in Nandom. This was followed a year later in 1959, with the opening of a girls’ secondary school in Jirapa. Also a Nurses Training College opened in 1952 in Jirapa boosted girls’ education as it created job openings.
From the foregoing, the Upper West Region, like the other parts of the North, was late in receiving Western-type education, when it eventually did, it could not benefit much from the process because of the colonial policy on education in the area. For instance, when the Catholic Church, which the people embraced so much made attempts to open schools they were given strict instructions either to stop or teach the subjects that will make their products (the northerners) clerk.
After independence when a scholarship scheme was established for Northerners to encourage people in the north to go to school and also as a way of bridging the gap between the North and South, the attitude in parliament (dominated by southerners) was that of apathy.
During the first Republic of Ghana, the Upper West still suffered in terms of education and other infrastructure development. This was because the people of the area were opposed to Nkrumah’s administration. The result of this was that people in this part of the country were not given jobs in the government of the Convention People’s Party. The unintended advantage of this situation was that the people, instead of seeking jobs went to school. Comparatively therefore, there are many more people in the Upper West Region who have got formal education. Unfortunately, the knowledge received by the comparatively large numbers of people in the region has not filtered down to the people on their door steps. The region still lags behind with poor infrastructure, housing, while the illiteracy rate, as noted above, is nothing to write home about. The region is the second poorest in Ghana-beating only the Upper East Region. The reason for this is not far fetched. As was revealed in the 2000 Population and Housing Census, about 22.6% live outside the region. Teachers refuse to go back and teach after their graduation. The patient-doctor ration continues to worsen while the region can boast of producing a lot of doctors.
Recently, a polytechnic was opened in the Upper West Region. The region has two Teacher Training Colleges at Tumu and Wa and a campus of the only University in the North, University for Development Studies located in Wa.
Infrastructure:
Health and Sanitation
Due to the position of the region-sharing borders with two countries, there is a strong soci-cultural relationship among the border communities and an extensive inter-boundary mobility of people. This has health implications in terms of diseases, epidemiology health service utilization and management. A recent research revealed that the region ranks second to the Eastern Region in terms of HIV/AIDS infection rate.
In terms of health facilities, the region can boast of 57 health centres and 6 hospitals (Wa, Nadowli, Jirapa, Lawra, Nandom and Tumu).
The region has the least number of tarred roads. Only two of the district capitals are linked to each other and to the regional capital by tarred roads. In spite of this, in terms of communication within the health sector, the region is probably ahead of all other regions. Thirty-nine health unit including the six hospitals,all the District Health Administrations and the Regional Health Directorate are linked to each other by means of a radio network. The backbone of this system is the repeater stations of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. These have proved useful in calling for ambulance services in times of need. Staff also uses the radio to consult one another on the clinical management of cases. Other people who assist to deliver health to the people include the Catholic Church and the European Union.
Most of the health facilities mentioned above either have no personnel to man them as these personnel are inadequate. In the Sakai area for example, there is a clinic but this clinic has performed far below expectation due to lack of staff. This community has however benefited from the services of a mobile clinic by the Catholic Sisters who visit the area from time to time. In some of these communities, therefore, health ranks second to low productivity in agriculture as the most serious problems.
The poor sanitation condition in the region cannot be divorced from its poor health state. Public toilets, Water Closets (WCs), Kumasi Ventilated Improved Pits (KVIPs) are inadequate while people throw rubbish about anywhere.
The following statistics taken from the 2000 Population and Housing Census will help throw more light on the above assertions.
Selected Waste Disposal Facilities
| Region | Population | WCs | Percentage | Bush/Beach | Percentage |
| Upper West | 576,583 | 80,588 | 14.0% | 56,096 | 9.7% |
| Upper East | 920,089 | 144,358 | 15.7% | 113,297 | 12.3% |
| Ashanti | 3,612,950 | 682,337 | 18.9% | 38,848 | 1.1% |
| Western | 1,924,577 | 409,282 | 21.3% | 50,307 | 2.6% |
| Eastern | 2,106,699 | N/A | N/A | 25,058 | 1.2% |
Source: 2000 Population and Housing Census Special Report on 20 Largest Locations – Ghana Statistical Service.
From the table, it is clear that those regions in the southern sector of the country are better resourced with water disposed facilities (WCs) than their northern counterparts. Also, fewer people in the southern part of the country go to the beach/bush to defecate while in the north the percentage is greater. There is, therefore, the likelihood that more people in northern Ghana will easily fall ill than those in the south of the country.
In the region, malaria continues to be the number one killer; Hepatitis, Meningitis and Hypertension follow in that order. AIDS, currently a sixth cause of death is increasingly becoming a cause of death is increasingly becoming a cause of death worthy of note.
The Ministry of Health has intervened by providing impregnated-mosquito nets at subsidized prices for the people. Yet these prices are not affordable to many people so the prevalence of malaria continues to rank first.
Agriculture
The predominant occupation in the region is agriculture in its various forms that is, crop farming, livestock and poultry keeping as well as vegetable growing.
Crop
The farming season starts in March/April and gets to its climax in November/December when farmers harvest their crops. The major crops cultivated include yam guinea corn, millet, corn, cowpea, cotton, groundnuts and tobacco. Most of the farmers practice mixed cropping. However, other methods like shifting cultivation, crop rotation and mono cropping in the case of cotton are also practiced along side.
Farming in the Upper West region is both on subsistence and commercial basis. Crops such as maize, guinea corn and groundnut are purposely cultivated for domestic consumption. Guinea corn is cultivated for pito beverage while cotton and cowpea are mainly produced as cash crops.
Except cotton which is the leading commercial crop produced in the region, cowpea and sheanuts are the other commercial crops. Due to price fluctuation for cotton, there has not been much interest from government’s renewed interest in cotton through the special initiative in textiles and garments. It is however, hoped that cotton production would be given a boost in the near future.
The average farm size is twenty-five acres per farmer and farming is mostly done on family basis. Farming is a daily activity of the people except days, which are supposed to be rest days. In the predominantly Christian communities, Sundays are also rest days.
The poor road net work in the region does not augur well for large-scale production since goods produced have to reach the markets by road.
Poultry and Livestock Farming
Another important agricultural activity in the region is livestock and poultry keeping. The people rear animals like cattle, goats, sheep and keep birds like guinea fowls, ducks and fowls to supplement income from crop farming.
Unfortunately, there are only 4 immunization centres. These are in Tumu, Karni, Kalco and Wa. The irony of this number of centres in the Upper West Region is that in regions in the south of the country where there are relatively fewer livestock, there are more immunization centres than in the Upper West Region. In Ashanti for instance there are 14 centres, Eastern Region 12 and Brong Ahafo Region 7.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture, however, tries to encourage farmers to increase crop and animal production by sending agricultural extension officers around from community to community to assist farmers with knowledge and technical skills to improve crop and livestock production.
Rural Economy/Local Craft
Generally speaking, the people of the Upper West Region practice agriculture. Statistics from the 2000 Population and Housing Census indicate that out of 299,434 economically active people from 7 years and above 225,688 people are engaged in agriculture, Hunting and Forestry. This figure is followed by 23,834 for manufacturing, 12,505 for wholesale and retail trade. Others have figures less than 3,000 people.
The manufacturing industry which ranks second to agriculture is mainly the local craft type, typical of the northern sector of the country, especially smocks, leather bags, and straw hats. Women also dominate the “pito” brewery industry which is a prominent trade in the region.
Conclusion
The combine influence/effects of the above mentioned factors have helped to explain the culture, and for that matter the activities of the people in the region and to a larger extent contributed to the poverty of the population.
Poverty especially food poverty is a major problem in the Upper West Region. Some of the reasons have been highlighted already. They include the migration of the youth down south of the country. There is also inadequate rainfall. This is worsen by the fact that there are no irrigation schemes in the region.
There is also lack of adequate producers’ price incentive. Everybody produces the same this and so buyers often decide the price to pay for goods produced.
The high rate of illiteracy means very few farmers would be ready to apply results of research findings to increase crop yields.
Research officers are very few, and much of the research information is insolvent to the farmer since they are often not involved in the research process. Besides the research may be carried out in other places with different environmental conditions from the region and therefore do not apply to the farmers’ needs.
The government is the main body in the region which assists the people in implementing policies and solving problems. There are however, other notable organizations which have intervened in various ways to address the problems of the people. For example, the contribution of the Churches, particularly the Catholic Church in moving the Upper West Region forward cannot be over emphasized. They have contributed immensely in the areas of education, health and nutrition, water and sanitation, agriculture, evangelism and communication to address the needs of the people.
Other NGOs include Action Aid which is basically dealing with education. They are in the Sissala District and they try to improve the quality of material taught at the basic level. They therefore assist in training teachers as well as the provision of books, teaching and learning materials to schools. Plan International an NGO is also in the region. Its target is the youth. It among other things educates the youth on the dangers of the NIV/AIDS disease. They are also in the Sissala District.
Another NGO MAATA-N-TUDU, working in the Wa District is concerned about the welfare of women. They provide women with micro-credit and educate them on how to make use of the credit facilities to reduce their poverty levels and improve quality of their livelihoods. The European Union EU is also in various parts of the region and is assisting the government and other organizations to deliver health services to people in the region. The Canadian International Development Agency CIDA, in collaboration with government is assisting to provide people in the region with portable drinking water.
One area in the region that is not fully tapped is tourism potential. The hippopotamus sanctuary of Wenchiau is a significant tourist attraction in the region. Also, the foot prints of the legendary slave trader Samori in Ullo and the wall around Grollu, which protected them from the notorious slave raiders, and the Wullen stones (Near the Tuggoh in the Jirapa/Lambussie district) are also worth noting. If all these attractions are fully developed, they will put the region in the tourism map of the country and earn some income for the respective district assemblies.