1.1 Vision, Mission, Functions and Core Values:

The Vision of Tema West Municipal Assembly (TWMA) is, ‘A model of Decentralization in providing client oriented services to its people’. TWMA’s Mission Statement is ‘To provide socio-economic and spatial development through the mobilization and utilization of quality human and material resources to improve the living conditions of people within the Municipality.’
The following are the Core Values of the Local Government Service adopted by the Assembly; Teamwork, Excellence, Dedication, Discipline, Client Oriented and Timeliness. The Assembly believes that, these values will make the Assembly outshine. The Municipal Assembly is required to perform all the functions conferred on District Assemblies by the Local Governance Act (2016), Act 936 and the Legislative Instrument, 2017, LI 2317 that established the District. Hence a District Assembly shall exercise deliberative, legislative and executive functions. The Assembly shall;

(a) Be responsible for the overall development of the district;
(b) Formulate and execute plans, programmes and strategies for the effective mobilisation of the resources necessary for the overall development of the district;
(c) Promote and support productive activity and social development in the district and remove any obstacles to initiative and development;
(d) Sponsor the education of students from the district to fill particular manpower needs of the district especially in the social sectors of education and health, making sure that the sponsorship is fairly and equitably balanced between male and female students;
(e) Initiate programmes for the development of basic infrastructure and provide municipal works and services in the district;
(f) Be responsible for the development, improvement and management of human settlements and the environment in the district;
(g) In co-operation with the appropriate national and local security agencies, be responsible for the maintenance of security and public safety in the district;
(h) Ensure ready access to courts in the district for the promotion of justice;
(i) Act to preserve and promote the cultural heritage within the district;
(j) Initiate, sponsor or carry out studies that may be necessary for the discharge of any of the duties conferred by this Act or any other enactment; and
(k) Perform any other functions that may be provided under another enactment.

1.2 Physical and Natural Environment
i) Location and Size
The Tema West Municipal Assembly (TWMA) is one of the 10 newly created MMDAs in the Greater Region of Ghana situated in the South Eastern and diagonally located between Latitudes 5°42"00' N and Longitudes 0°00"30' W and Latitudes 5°36"20' S and Longitudes 0°7"10' W. It has a total land area of about 66.8 square km, which represents almost 2.1 percent of the total land size of the Greater Accra Region. The Municipal Assembly was carved from the Tema Metropolitan Assembly and was inaugurated on 15th March, 2018. The Assembly was established with Legislative Instrument (LI) 2317. The Municipal Assembly shares boundaries with Krowor Municipality to the West, Adentan to the North –West, Kpone to the North, Ashaiman Municipality to the North - East, and the Tema to the East, with the Gulf of Guinea sharing the south-eastern boundaries. Community 2 is the District capital of the Tema West Municipal Assembly and is located at the south eastern part of the Municipality, and lies close to the coast. The location of the Municipality makes it economically viable in relation to the many Companies and Industries existing in the area.
ii) Climate
The Municipality lies in the Coastal Savannah zone. There are two rainy seasons. The average annual rainfall is about 730mm to 790mm. The first season begins in May and ends in mid-July while the second season begins in mid-August and ends in November. Rain usually falls in intensive short storms and gives rise to flooding where drainage channels are obstructed. As the area is close to the equator, the daylight hours are practically uniform throughout the year. Temperatures are high all year round with significant daily and seasonal variations. The annual average temperatures range between 25oC and 30 oC in the major rainy season while in the minor season temperatures range between 34 oC and 40 oC. Humidity varies from 60% - 80% (or more) in the wet season to less than 30% in the dry season. Winds, generally of low velocity, blow over the area from the South during the day and evening and from the West in the night and early morning.
iii) Vegetation
The vegetation zones in the Municipality comprises of the following: shrub land, grassland and few patches semi-deciduous forests. The vegetation zone in the Metropolis comprises of the following; shrub land, grassland. However, some parts of the shrub land and the semi-deciduous forests are not part of the Tema West Municipality but with the Spatial interactions that exist between both assemblies these areas still benefit the Assembly.
iv) Relief and Drainage
The streams in the Municipality are seasonal. Most of these streams flow through depressions into the sea during the rainy season. Notable among them is the Gynakorgyor flows into the Gao Lagoon between Manhean and Kpone. Industrial liquid waste and water from the Eastern part of Manhean Township converge into a major drain ending up in the Chemu Lagoon located between the harbour area and Tema Manhean. These pollutants have destroyed the aquatic life of the lagoon. However these pollutants can be purified to theto be used for agricultural activities in those areas.
v) Hydrology
The streams in the Municipality are seasonal in nature, they do not flow throughout the year. A number of streams however flow through depressions into the sea during the rainy season. Notable among them is the Gynakorgyor (flow into the Gao Lagoon between Manhean and Kpone). Water from the industrial area and the Eastern part of the township converge into a major drain ending up in the Chemu Lagoon located between the harbor area and Tema Manhean. These have contributed to the biological death of the Chemu lagoon. Chemicals washed from the industries pollute and destroy the aquatic life of the lagoon.
vi) Soils and Minerals
Soils in Tema West Municipality are composed of sand, clay, humus, gravel and stone. The sandy and humus nature of the soil support the cultivation of vegetables as onion, okro, tomatoes, pepper and the exotic vegetables whiles the clayey nature though support the production of brick could also have adverse effects on general construction activities.
vii) Geology
The geology of the Mnicipality consist of Precambrian rocks of the Dahomeyan formation: metamorphic rocks mainly consisting of granite, gneiss and schist have been probably derived from sedimentary layers. These rocky formations are weathered or decomposed at the surface with a thickness not exceeding 12m in the area.
viii) The Built Environment
The built up area of the Municipality is made up of both the well planned communities and inadvertent communities. The residential areas (both well planned and squatter settlements) form about 60% of the total land area with industrial and commercial areas making up the remaining 40% of land cover. The squatter settlements are usually found in areas such as Klagom, parts of Community 2, and the Adjei Kojo areas. With rapid population increase, the built up areas continue to increase and this has compounded the environmental and sanitation problems and challenges that faces the Municipality. Some houses have been constructed in waterways, and this together with the proliferation of other unauthorised structures contributes to flooding. This is especially a problem in communities such as Lashibi and part of Community 5. Vegetation cover also continues to reduce by the creation of new housing estates. Land that was used for agricultural purposes has been lost to housing development. This situation not only has implication for the environment, but also the livelihoods of farmers in the Municipality.
1.2.1 Biodiversity, Climate Change, Green Economy and Environment in General

The possible cause of man made disasters in the Municipality is the citing of unauthorized/temporal structures on unapproved locations. These unauthorized structures are sometimes placed on water ways causing floods at the slightest rains. Drainage in the Municipality is inadequate causing more floods in the waterlogged areas. Areas that are frequently affected in the Municipality are adjei – Kojo, Klagon and Sakumon. There is the need to increase public awareness on the need to stop putting structures on water ways and demolish all unauthorized structures to curb these threat.

1.3.5 Natural Resource Utilisation
Though most of the arable lands have been taken over by the construction of residential and other commercial structures and majority of the people are in the industrial and the service sector, agriculture also employs about 9.0 percent of the population. The agricultural system in the Municipality is largely on subsistence basis, where farmers cultivate with the use of simple farm tools and for consumption purposes. The agricultural sector includes food crops farming, fishing and livestock farming. Farming activities in the Metropolis are mainly done around the ramsar site and inner city gardening. Some of the crops cultivated include onion, okro, cassava, maize, tomato and pepper.
1.3.6 Population and Demographic Characteristics
According to the 2010 Population and Housing Census, the total population of the Tema West Municipal Assembly was 125,046. This consists of 60,331 males representing 48.2% and 64,715 females representing 51.8%. The 2017 projected population of the Municipality is 150,007. This population is expected to grow up to 166,448 by 2021 based on the year 2017 growth rate of 2.6%. The distribution of the population of Tema West Municipality shows that the age group 25-29 recorded the highest population with 11.8 percent while age groups 90-94 and 95-99 had the least share of the population which represents 0.1 percent each respectively. The total age dependency ratio for Tema West municipality for both sexes is 50%. The male age dependency ratio is 51.3 percent whiles that of the female is 48.7 percent. Tema West municipality has a youthful population with the age cohorts 0-4, 20-24 and 25-29 having the highest share in the distribution. The age-sex structure is broad based, indicating a high concentration of people with younger age.
1.3.7 Migration
Migration may be defined as a spatial movement involving a temporary or permanent change in one’s usual place of residence from one geographical area to the other within a specified period of time. Migration trends in the Municipality shows that, in-migration is high due to the fact that many people come from other parts of the country in search of jobs in the industries/factories. This to some extent has increase the migration figures for the area. Considering the fact that a sizeable proportion of the population is therefore youthful (between 10 – 16 years) because of job unavailability, these youths can be seen parading as shoeshine boys, truck pushers, school drop outs, etc. This trend does not only expose the youth to dangerous practices, but also puts a strain on the limited available socio-economic facilities such as toilets, water, housing and so on. Hence, the phenomenon of street children, which was unknown in the Municipality, is now a major problem facing the Municipal authorities as well as other agencies involved in ensuring the well-being of the youth.
1.3.8 Household Size Characteristics
The 2010 Population and Housing Census indicate that the Tema Metropolis has an average household size of 4.1 percent. This is a little above the regional average of 3.8 percent and not so different from the national average of 4.4 percent. With regards to the composition of household heads for the Metropolis, the 2010 Population and Housing Census shows that 22.4 percent of household members are Nuclear (Head spouse(s) children) households, with about 24 percent of males being heads and 21 percent of females. Again, 19.4 percent of households members in the Metropolis are Extended family with both male and female being heads of households recording 19.4 percent respectively. The above information is taken directly from the Tema Metropolitan Assembly because there has not been any data on Tema West Municipal since it was part of the TMA as at 2010 when the data was collected.
1.3.9 Culture and Ethnic Diversity
Tema was created out of a cluster of small fishing villages. History has it that “Torman”, as it was originally called was founded by migrating people called the ‘Kpeshie’s’ who were Gas. They brought along seeds of the gourd plant, which they planted at their new-found site. The seeds thrived very well producing lots of gourds and the area was referred to as “Torman”, meaning a town of gourds, which stood at where the defunct Meridian Hotel is located. The traditional people were later relocated to their present location at Tema Manhean in 1961 when the Tema Habour was constructed. Tema West is no different since it was carved out of Tema. Currently, there are two major traditional areas in the Tema Metropolitan Area, namely Tema (Newtown) and Nungua. The traditional festivals celebrated by the people are namely Kpledzoo and Homowo. “Kpledzoo” is celebrated between March and April whiles “Homowo”, which literally means Hooting at hunger is celebrated from August to September every year. During these festivals people from all walks of life in the traditional area are brought together for the celebration. The indigenous occupation of the people is fishing and is forbidden for fishermen to go to sea on Tuesdays. This deprives fishmongers and others engaged in fishing activities of their income for the day, and as such some form of revenue is lost to the Assembly. The original settlers of Tema are the Ga-Dangme’s. However, because it is a popular destination of migrants, several ethnic groups can be found here. The dominant ethnic groups are the Akan, Ga-Dangme and Ewe. Other fairly well represented groups are the Mole-Dagbani and the Guans. The diverse nature of the inhabitants fosters interethnic tolerance and social solidarity that has promoted peace and harmony in the district. This has also reduced ethnocentrism. The religious composition of the Metropolis is diverse in nature since the inhabitants are of varied backgrounds. The prominent amongst them are Christians, Moslems and Traditional religion. Against this background, the churches and mosques are known to be a good mobilization grounds for information dissemination for development.
1.3.11 Governance
TWMA has eleven Electoral Areas with a representation each from these areas making up the Assembly and five members who were duly appointment by the President. These electoral areas are Halcrow, Dzata-Bu, Kassadjan, Railways, Kaiser, Wolei, Sakumono, Baatsonaa, Lashibi, Kla-Gon and Adjei-Kojo. Each electoral area has a five-member Unit Committee who are also elected and work hand in hand with the Assembly Members and the Traditional Authorities. The Unit Committees are at the lowest level and form the basic unit of the Local Government Structure. The General Assembly is headed by a Presiding Member. The Municipality has one constituency called the Tema West Constituency. The Assembly is headed by the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) who is nominated by the President and approved by two-thirds majority of the Assembly. The MCE is also the head of the Executive Committee of the Assembly which reviews the sub-committee reports. The Municipal Coordinating Director (MCD) coordinates all the activities of the various departments and is also the Secretary to the General House. 1.3.12 Security TWMA has a Municipal Security Committee (MUSEC) which is in-charge of security and human safety issues. In the Tema West Municipality, there is a Municipal. Security Committee (MUSEC) of which the Municipal Chief Executive is the Chairman. It draws its membership from the various Security Agencies in the Municipality, the Police, Army, Navy, BNI, CEPS, Immigration and Fire Service. This body is responsible for all matters relating to security in the Municipality. Almost all the Communities within Tema West Municipality have access to Police stations except the peri-urban communities. The implications are that the strategic locations of these Polices stations have reduced or curbed general crime. Coordination of the Police intra stations has relatively reduced armed robbery giving sound and safe environment of the Municipality. Role of NGOs and Civil Society Organizations Three NGO were registered during the year under review (2018). These NGO’s are involved in Road Safety, STMIE, Malaria Control Programmes, HIV and AIDS intervention activities and Women Empowerment. These NGO’s includes Dr. Amponsah Road Protection, Kotek and Magma. The Social Welfare and Community Department is still making efforts to locate all NGOs within the Tema West Municipality for registration and also sensitise them on how best they can help with enhancing the socio-economic status of the people with the Municipality. There are also Civil Society Organizations such as the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), the Ghana Private Road Transport Union, Freight Forwarders Association, Ghana Shippers’ Authority, Ghana Maritime Association, Residents’ Associations, Private Contractors Association, Consultants among others. These civil societies contribute immensely in the decision making process and policy formulation at the Assembly. 1.3.13 Local Economic Development The local economy of Tema West Municipality is made up of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce/Services. The industrial and the service sectors form the backbone of the local economy as it employs majority of the labour force. The service activities are in the form of banking, tourism and hospitality and related activities, energy and communication. A significant number of the people are also engaged in agriculture. It is worth noting that the service sector is growing at a faster rate and employs more women than men. This can be attributed to low skills and education required before getting into the sector. Though Local Economic Development has more to do with using local resources by local enterprises to create jobs with an enabling environment by the public sector, one can conclude that unlike other rural assemblies with natural resources, TWMA can only boast of the Sea. There is the Department of Trade represented by Cooperatives and also high access to the financial services due to the presence of several banks in the Municipality. Utilities such as electricity, water, roads and telecommunication facilities also exist in the municipality to facilitate job creation. Majority of the gainfully employed persons are into wholesaling, retailing, petty-trading, and repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles and other service-related jobs. Thus, the presence of these economic opportunities attracts more banks to the enclave. 1.3.14 Banking- Financial and Non-Financial Institutions Financial services aid economic growth and development. Savings and investment, insurance, debt and equity financing help individuals, guard against uncertainty and build credit, while enabling businesses to start up, expand, increase efficiency and compete in local and international markets. For the poor, these services reduce vulnerability, generate income and create paths out of poverty. Despite their potentials, the impact of financial services on expanding economic opportunity has remained limited, due to insufficient information, inappropriate products and inflexible regulatory systems limit access to the high and middle income earners. A number of financial institutions operate and offer financial services to the industries as well as commercial ventures in the Municipality. The category of customers of the financial institutions ranges from salary workers, farmers, industrialists, transport owners, traders, artisans, and corporate institutions. Some of the financial services provided by these institutions are Current Account, Savings, Deposits, Domestic and foreign money Transfers, granting loans, telegraphic transfers. The location of these financial institutions shows high accessibility to most of the communities and its surrounding areas. 1.3.15 Economy of the Municipality The economy of Tema Municipality is made up of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce/Services. The service sector forms the backbone of the economy as it employs majority of the labour force. The service activities are in the form of banking, tourism and hospitality and related activities, energy and communication. A significant number of the people are also engaged in agriculture. It is worth noting that the service sector is growing at a faster rate and employs more women than men. This can be attributed to low skills and education required before getting into the sector. Most of the people are into wholesale and retail businesses beacause of the nearness of the Port to the Municipality. The numerous factories located in the Minicipality have registered and pay their business operation permit fee to the Assembly. The payment of the Business Operating Fee contributes to the generation of internal revenue to the Assembly. The service sector in the Municipality covers a wide range of tertiary activities. These include hairdressing, driving, selling and petty trading; tailoring and dressmaking. Most of these activities are carried out usually on a small scale. Figure 1.3 depicts the major occupations in TWMA.