Bawku West District

Bawku West District
District
Districts of Upper East region
Bawku West District Bawku West District in Upper East region
Coordinates: 10°55′N 0°31′W
Region	Upper East Region
Capital	Zebilla
Government
• District Executive	Hon. Victoria Ayamga
Area
• Total	979 km2 (378 sq mi)
Population  (2013)
• Total	—
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
ISO 3166 code	GH-UE-BW

The Bawku West District is one of the (13) districts in the Upper East Region of northern Ghana. The capital is Zebilla. It's part of the traditional kingdom of Kussaug. Kussasi is the main tribe and kussal is the main language spoken in the area.[1]

History

The Bawku West District was carved out of the old Bawku East District under the new local government system in 1988. As the Kussasi kingdom of Kussaug, it is much older.

Geography

The district is bordered by Talensi-Nabdam District to the West and Bawku Municipal District to the East. The district covers a land area of approximately 979 km², which constitute about 12% of the total area of Upper East region.

Demographics

According to the 2000 population and housing census, the district had 80,606 people of whom only 12% were literate at that time. Kusaal is the dominant language in Zebilla. The majority of the inhabitants of the district are Kussasi, but there are also numerous Basari and Mossi from the adjacent kingdoms. Zebilla, like many other places in Northern part of Ghana has very shallow soil which is less rich in organic fertilizer. The weather conditions are harsh with little rainfall. Major crops that thrive well in the area are maize, sorghum, 'Nara', rice, soya beans,bambara beans and groundnut. Joy News reported that, a man called Apamsaiblik Azurago, 'defied the odds' and cultivated the first ever cocoa in the area.

Economics

Goods and commodity trading occur every three days in an open market in Zebilla. The same occurs in smaller townships like Sapeliga on the Burkina Faso border. The Zebilla market is at the district capital and it is the largest market in the district. There are other smaller markets like the Binaba market which is at Binaba zone, Tanga market which is at the Tanga zone, Sapeliga Market, at the Sapeliga Market. The smaller markets come a day after or every other day after Zebilla market day. Zebilla is noted for animal production. Guinea fowls, sheep, goat and dogs are mostly sold every market day. Dog meat is a delicacy among the traditional kussasi people. Dogs are sold in open place every in all the small markets and people from the regional capital, Bolga come to all these places to buy them and process as a delicacy.[2]

Sources

• "Districts of Ghana". Statoids.
• Zebilla