Oti Region

The Oti Region is one of the six newly created regions of Ghana in December 2018. The region was carved out of the Volta Region and will be in fulfillment of a campaign promise made by New Patriotic Party. Prior to the 2016 Ghanaian general election, the then candidate Nana Akufo-Addo declared that when elected, he would explore the possibility of creating new regions out of some of the existing regions in Ghana in order to bring government closer to citizens. The region was inaugurated on May 14, 2019. It has Dambai as its regional capital. The people of Oti region have for more than 60 years always wanted to have a region of their own before its creation in 2018 by the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo led government in December 2018.

History

The execution of plans for the creation of the regions was seeded to the newly created Ministry of Regional Reorganization and Development which is under the leadership of Hon. Dan Botwe. Government of Ghana ministry charged with the responsibility of supervising the creation of new regions in Ghana. In March 2017, the ministry sent the blue print for the creation of the region along with others to the Council of State. The council met over 36 times from the time of submission to August 2017. The final stage for the creation of the region was decided through a referendum by the people within the catchment of the new region. A referendum on 27 December 2018 approved the creation of Oti Region. On election day, 323,708 out of 366,481 (88.33% voter turnout) registered voters cast their votes. A total of 319,296 (98.64 per cent) voted Yes and 2,878 voted No (0.89 per cent) while the number of rejected ballots was 951 (0.24 per cent).

Languages Spoken

In the Oti Region of Ghana, the major languages spoken include French, English, Guan, Twi (a dialect of Akan), and Ewe, with other languages like Dagbani, Dagaare, Konkomba, Kotokoli, Nawdm, Hausa, Kabre and Akposso are also present.

French: A member of the Romance languages, all communities in this region spoke this language.

English: A member of the Germanic languages, it is the official language of Ghana.

Guan: The Guan-speaking tribes include Krachi, Nchumuru/Chonke, Buem, Nkonya, Asante, Akyode, Adele, and Ntrobo.

Twi (Akan): It encompasses the Fante and Twi dialects, is spoken by a significant portion of the population and is considered a lingua franca in the Oti Region.

Ewe: Ewe is spoken by communities along the Volta Lake and also extends into Togo and Benin.

Dagbani: A member of the Oti-Volta language group, Dagbani is spoken in the Oti region.

Dagaare: Belongs to the northern branch of the Western Oti-Volta group of the Gur branch of the Niger-Congo language family.

Konkomba: Spoken by communities in the area of the Oti River, Konkomba is a Gur language with multiple dialects.

Dangme: A Kwa language spoken by the people of Ada, Yilo and Manya Klo, S1, Osudoku, Kpone (Kpomi), Gbugblaa (Prampram) and Nugo.

Kusaal: A member of the Niger-Congolese, Atlantico-Congolese, Voltaic-Congolese, North, Gur, Gur central, North, Oti-Volta, West, Southeast linguistic family.

Nawdm also known as Losso spoken by Nawdba people. Nawdm is a Gur language of Togo and Ghana. It belongs to the Niger-Congo language family

Kotokoli: also known as Tem, is a Gur language belonging to the Niger-Congo family, spoken in Togo, Ghana, Benin, and Burkina Faso.

Kabre: also known as Kabiye which is a Gur (Voltaic) language spoken primarily in Togo, Benin and Ghana.

Hausa: is a Chadic language spoken primarily in the northern parts of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Benin and Togo.

Akposso: is the language of the Akposso people, mainly in the Plateau Region of Togo and in Ghana. It is considered as one the Ghana–Togo Mountain languages.

Administrative divisions

The political administration of the region is through the local government system. Under this administration system, the region is divided into Nine (9) Municipal and District Assemblies (M/DAs) (made up of 4 Municipalities and 5 District Assemblies). Each Municipal and District Assembly, is administered by a Chief Executive, representing the central government but deriving authority from an Assembly headed by a presiding member elected from among the members themselves. The current list is as follows:

Geography and climate

Location and size

The Oti Region is bordered on the north by the Northern region, to the south by the Volta Region, and to the west by the Volta Lake. It has 9 districts.

Climate and vegetation

The Oti Region is much drier than the rest of the southern areas of Ghana, due to its proximity to the north. The vegetation consist of mostly of grassland, especially savanna with clusters of drought-resistant trees such as baobabs or acacias. Between December and April is the dry season. The wet season is between about May and November with an average annual rainfall of 750 to 1050 mm (30 to 40 inches). The highest temperatures are reached at the end of the dry season, the lowest in December and January. However, the hot Harmattan wind from the Sahara blows frequently between December and the beginning of February. The temperatures can vary between 14 °C (59 °F) at night and 40 °C (104 °F) during the day.

Natural Resource Potential

The Ghana Geological Survey Authority has discovered large quantities of Iron ore deposits in Akokrowa, a farming community in the Oti Region of Ghana. The iron ore, according to the geological investigation, is 55.22 weight percent (Fe) and of a higher grade. It is anticipated that the exploration and the business of the Iron will create jobs and wealth for the people of Oti and the country in general.

Tourism & Parks

* Kyabobo National Park: The reserve is situated in Nkwanta, in the Nkwanta South District of the area, between the Savannah and tropical rain forest. The reserve was established in 1993 with the intention of safeguarding wildlife and other endangered animal species while also giving them a comfortable place to live away from danger and human activity. The boundaries of the park have, however, been altered numerous times since then.
* Lake Volta
* Breast Mountain, Chilinga
* Chaiso Forest Reserve
* Hanging Village, Shiare

References

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Regions of Ghana
2018 in Ghana
2018 establishments in Ghana