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 In several Akan nations of Ghana, the Omanhene (''Pl. Amanhene)'' is the title of a magnate or a supreme traditional ruler ('king') in a region or a larger town. The omanhene is the central figure and institution of the nation. Officially, he has ...

'' 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 Denkyira (also known as Denkira, Denchira, Inguira, or Dinkira) was a powerful Akan kingdom that rose to prominence in precolonial Ghana, dominating large parts of the forest zone in the south-central Gold Coast. Centered around its capital at ...

(now residing in

Biadan Biadan is a town in the Bono Region of Ghana. The town is known for the Methodist Secondary Technical School. The school is a second cycle 96px, alt=Logo with stylized stars, Logo alt=Map of Europe, encompassing the entire Bologna zone, 2 ...

). The second branch also originated from Denkyira, now residing in Abi ( from Berekum). The last branch were

Gyaman Gyaman (also spelled Gyaaman or Jamang, and later known as Jaman) was a prominent precolonial Akan people, Akan kingdom that flourished in parts of present-day Ghana and Ivory Coast. Established by the Bono people from the Abusua, Aduana clan, G ...

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 Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...

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 Berekum East Municipal District is one of the twelve districts in Bono Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Berekum District on 10 March 1989, which was created from the former Berekum-Jaman District Council. It was ...

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 Sunyani () is a city and the capital of the Sunyani Municipal District and the Bono Region of Ghana. The city is located about northwest of Kumasi and away from Accra. It is the sixth largest city in the country as of the 2010 census, with ...

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 Berekum College of Education is a teacher education college in Berekum (Berekum Municipal District, Brong-Ahafo Region, Ghana).Björn Haßler, Jacob Tetteh Akunor, Enock Seth Nyamador (2017). An Atlas of The Forty Colleges of Education in Ghana. ...

. 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 The Medical Mission Sisters (MMS) is a religious congregation of women in the Roman Catholic Church. It was founded in September 1925 with a goal of providing better access to health care to poor people around the world. They were formerly known ...

and became a Diocesan hospital in 1978.

Sports

The town is home to two stadiums: the

Berekum Sports Stadium Berekum Sports Stadium (also known as Golden City Park) is a multi-use stadium in Berekum, Bono region, Bono Region. Usage Berekum Sports Stadium is used mostly for football (soccer), football matches. Residents The association football ...

and the

Golden City Park Berekum Sports Stadium (also known as Golden City Park) is a multi-use stadium in Berekum, Bono Region. Usage Berekum Sports Stadium is used mostly for football matches. Residents The association football clubs Berekum Arsenal Bereku ...

. Professional sports teams based in Berekum are

Berekum Chelsea Berekum United Football Club is a Ghanaian professional football club based in Berekum, Bono Region, previously known as Bechem Chelsea Football Club. They compete in the Ghana Premier League, the top-flight of the Ghanaian football system. Hist ...

and

Berekum Arsenal Berekum Arsenal Football Club is a Ghanaian football club based in Berekum in the Bono region of Ghana, about 30 minutes drive west from Sunyani. Founded in 1995, They are currently members of the Division One League. CAF Cup In 2006, the c ...

Notable people

Kwadwo Afari-Gyan Kwadwo Afari-Gyan (born 18 June 1945) is a Ghanaian academic, political scientist and election administrator. He was Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Ghana from 1993 to 2015. Early life and education Afari-Gyan was born on 18 June 1945 ...

(born 1945), former chairman of the

Electoral Commission of Ghana The Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) is the official body in Ghana responsible for all public elections. Made up of seven members and there are seven (7) functional departments at the Head Office. Each department is headed by a Director who is ...

Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (born 2 December 1990), known mononymously as Badu ( ), is a Ghanaian professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He has earned 78 caps for the Ghana national team. Club career Early career Born in Berekum, Bono ...

(born 1990), professional footballer * Samuel Amofa (born 1999), professional footballer * Kwesi Appiah (born 1990), professional footballer *

George Benneh George Kwabena Effah Benneh (6 March 1934 – 11 February 2021) was a Ghanaian geographer, academic and university administrator who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon from 1992 to 1996. He was a professor and l ...

(1934-2021), geographer, academic and university administrator *

Kofi Adoma Nwanwani Stephen Kofi Adoma known professionally as Kofi Adoma Nwanwani (born July 20) is a Ghanaian journalist, teacher and philanthropist. He currently works as the director of news for the Angel Broadcasting Network (ABN). He is the founder and CEO of ...

(born n/a), journalist *

John Paintsil John Paintsil (born 15 June 1981) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who was an assistant coach at Kaizer Chiefs in the South African Premiership. He played club football for Berekum Arsenal, Liberty Professionals, Maccabi Tel Aviv, H ...

(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