Berekum, nicknamed "The Golden City", is a city and the capital of Berekum East Municipal in the

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 ...

. The city has a population of 62,364 as of 2012. The native language of the Berekum people is the Bono Twi. As of 2020, the '' Omanhene'' of the city is Daasebre Dr. Amankona Diawuo II.

History

Based on oral tradition, there were three

Akan people The Akan () people are a kwa languages, Kwa group living primarily in present-day Ghana and in parts of Ivory Coast and Togo in West Africa. The Akan speak languages within the Central Tano languages, Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano la ...

groups who originally migrated and settled in the area (now known as Berekum). The first branch to arrive, known as the Awasu people, are said to be migrants from Denkyira (now residing in Biadan). The second branch also originated from Denkyira, now residing in Abi ( from Berekum). The last branch were Gyaman soldiers from

Asokore Asokore is a town in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The town is known for T.I. Ahmadiyya Girls Senior High School, Krobea-Asante Senior High, Tijjania Senior High school and Nasir Children Training Centre one of the oldest Basic International ...

. After the Gyamans were defeated by the Asante army, some of the soldiers escaped west to

Côte d'Ivoire 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 city and ...

. This resulted in a post being set up in Berekum by the Asantes to be ensure that no resurgence will occur. It is believed that these migrations were led by the leaders of Bɔfoakwa, Bɔfoɔbɛm, and Sefa Antwireboa.

Demographics

About 34% of the population is rural while 66% is urban. Nearly 90% of the population is Christian of which 38.8% is Pentecostal, 23.5% is Protestant, 17% is Catholic, and 8.8% practices other kinds of the religion. This is following by Islam (6.5%), traditional religions (0.4%), and those who are not affiliated with any religion (4.1%).

Economy

Over 70% of the population, mostly rural, is engaged in

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. Plantains,

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

cassavas ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although a perennia ...

, yams, and

cocoyam Cocoyam is a common name for more than one tropical root crop and vegetable crop belonging to the Arum family (also known as Aroids and by the family name ''Araceae'') and may refer to: * Taro (''Colocasia esculenta'') – old cocoyam * Mala ...

s have been cultivated in the area since the 18th century. Other sectors in the economy include

commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...

, services and

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

Culture

The town is located in the Berekum Traditional Area in which the paramount chief or the ''Omanhene'' is Daasebre Dr. Amankona Diawuo II.

Geography

Berekum is located in the Berekum East Municipal district which borders to the north-east

Tain District Tain District is one of the twelve districts in Bono Region, 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 ...

Dormaa East District Dormaa East District is one of the twelve districts in Bono Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Dormaa District on 10 March 1989; until the eastern part of the district was split off to create Dormaa East District o ...

to the south and to the south-east is the

Sunyani West District Sunyani West District is one of the twelve districts in Bono Region, 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 borde ...

. The town is situated about from Sunyani and from

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

Climate

Berekum has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Aw''), with a wet season and a dry season and the temperature being hot year-round. The mean annual rainfall ranges from .

Human resources

Education

The biggest educational institution in the town is the Berekum College of Education. Established in 1953 by then chief Nana Yiadom Owusu II, the college was officially accredited to offer diplomas in 2007.

Health

The town's major hospital is the Berekum Holy Family hospital (HOFAHO), which is a catholic

diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

hospital that serves as the municipal hospital. It was established in 1948 by the Medical Mission Sisters and became a Diocesan hospital in 1978.

Sports

The town is home to two stadiums: the Berekum Sports Stadium and the Golden City Park. Professional sports teams based in Berekum are Berekum Chelsea and Berekum Arsenal.

Notable people

* Kwadwo Afari-Gyan (born 1945), former chairman of the Electoral Commission of Ghana * Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (born 1990), professional footballer * Samuel Amofa (born 1999), professional footballer * Kwesi Appiah (born 1990), professional footballer * George Benneh (1934-2021), geographer, academic and university administrator * Kofi Adoma Nwanwani (born n/a), journalist * John Paintsil (born 1981), professional footballer * Isaac Sackey (born 1994), professional footballer

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

External links

* {{Coord, 7, 27, N, 2, 35, W, region:GH-BA_type:city(44000), display=title Populated places in the Bono Region Districts of Ghana