Banda Ahenkro is a town located in the west-northern of

Bono region The Bono region is one of the 16 administrative regions of Ghana. It is as a result of the remainder of Brong-Ahafo region when Bono East region and Ahafo Region, Ahafo region were created. Sunyani, also known as the green city of Ghana, is the r ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, near the border of

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

. Its geography provided a home for numerous groups seeking shelter from across

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

during the slave trade era. The original name of the settlement was Serminakuu meaning groups of 'grasses'. This name was changed to Banda, which is a corruption of 'Woanda' meaning 'they did not sleep'. Ancestors of Banda Ahenkro were allies of the Asante kingdom during wars and they provided a military force that virtually refused to sleep during at-war times. This is because they were predominantly

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and were found praying throughout the night. Later, 'woanda' was also corrupted by the Bono neighbours to become Banda. The settlement evolved to become the chief town or 'Ahenkro' within a collection of Nafana communities. Banda Ahenkro which is the

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

capital of Banda District was carved from

Tain Tain ( ) is a royal burgh and parish in the County of Ross, in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. Etymology The name derives from the nearby River Tain, the name of which comes from an Indo-European root meaning 'flow'. The Gaelic n ...

and forms part of the new districts and municipalities created in the year 2012 and were inaugurated at their various locations simultaneously on 28 June 2012. The late president, H.E. J.E.A Mills, by an Executive Instrument (E.I) created 46 new districts. All the inaugurated and confirmed MMDAs established are operational with immediate effect in 2012hence bringing the total number of MMDAs to 216. The district has a population of 45,000 with Banda Ahenkro having a population of 2,795 as at 2010 with males being 21,000 and females being 24,000. The population has been increasing over the years with a growth rate of 2.6%.

Economy

Agriculture is the main occupation among the workforce of Banda Ahenkro.

Transportation

Banda Ahenkro, the capital of Banda District is 126 kilometres away from Sunyani, the regional capital (approximately 1 hour 47 minutes’ drive by road). The town is connected by road to Wenchi and Bui and its hydro electric power, Bui Dam. Banda Ahenkro is not serviced by a railway station on the Ghana Railway Corporation.

Communications

The town of Banda Ahenkro is outfitted with modern communication facilities which include,

mobile phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

and

e-mail Electronic mail (usually shortened to email; alternatively hyphenated e-mail) is a method of transmitting and receiving Digital media, digital messages using electronics, electronic devices over a computer network. It was conceived in the ...

services. These services are provided by

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network providers MTN Ghana, Airtel

, Vodafone Ghana and Tigo

Culture

The people of Banda Ahenkro celebrate 'Forjour' which is a popular festival that's being celebrated by the town. 'Forjour' is a yam festival celebrated in the month of October every year, the climax of the yam

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

is the durbar of the king (Omanhene) through Banda traditional area. The festival is used as a means to remember their ancestors for protection and favour. It is also held to purify the area and allow its people to go into the traditional New Year with hope.

Sports

Many residents of Banda traditional area follows the Banda Ahenkro-based sports team, Bandaman Football Club, which is currently playing in the second division league.

Notable people

Banda Ahenkro is the home and birthplace of Ahmed Ibrahim, the current member of parliament for Banda District, Mr. Alexander Kofi Essien, lead counsel Greater Accra Regional

House of Chiefs A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...

, and Asuma Banda and many others.

Health

Banda Ahenkro (B/A), on 31 May 2005. GNA- The Ghana Health Service handed over a multi-million-cedi Health Centre to the people at Banda Ahenkro in Brong Ahafo. Osabarima Okokyeredom Kwadwo Sito I, Omanhene of Banda Traditional Area, who received the keys to the facility from Mr Ebenezer Awuku, Estate Officer of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in Sunyani in turn handed them over to the health personnel in-charge of the centre. The Omanhene commended the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

and the GHS for the provision of the facility.

Tourism

Tourists to Banda Ahenkro are attracted by the area's natural environment. Attractions include the Nyua Kpoo Mountain and the Sheli Kpoo cave which are potential tourist sites.

References

{{Ghana district capitals

External links

Modernghana.com

Ghana Place Names
Populated places in the Bono Region Banda District (Ghana)