Ellembelle District Assembly
The District was carved out of the then Nzema East District, now Nzema East Municipal in December 2007 by Legislative Instrument 1918 and inaugurated in February 2008 with Nkroful as the administrative capital.
The Assembly has a total of fifty four (54) members. This is made up of;
Thirty eight (38) elected members, Sixteen (16) Government Appointees, The District chief executive and a Member of Parliament.
Constituency and Area Councils
The District has only one constituency, the Ellembelle Constituency with a total of Seven (7) Area Councils: Aiyinase, Asasetre, Nkroful, Awiebo, Esiama, Kikam, and Atuabo.
Physical characteristics
Adjoining Districts
Jomoro to the West, Wassa Amenfi West to the North, Nzema East to the South-East, Nsuaem Municipal to the East
Land Area
1,468 Square km (362,742.80 hectares)
Demographic Characteristics
2010 Census: 2013 Projections:
Population 87,501 124,768
Males: 42,317 57,072
Female: 45,184 67,696
District Assembly Economy
Road
The District has a total of 154km trunk roads of which 63km representing 41.5% are tarred. The tarred and accessible roads are mostly found in the southern sector of the district. Aiyinase north Sub-district is hardly reached by phone or vehicle even though it produces most of the cash and food crops in the district. The effect is that food crop farmers in that area suffer post-harvest losses since they are unable to transport their wares to available market centres. This culminates in other socio-economic problems such as healthcare accessibility, portable water, education, and electricity among others.
Industry
The district has a number of moribund industries that could be revamped e.g. the Nkroful oil factory and a number of functional and newly developing industries such as Adamus gold mine and Ghana gas making; the district economy one of the fastest growing districts in Ghana and great potential for industrial development.
Agriculture
Fishing is the main occupation of the people in the district. However, arable farming, small scale mining, and trading is carried out in the middle and the northern zones. There are three major market days in the district at Aiyinase and Asasetre markets where most food staffs are sold. Processing and sale of copra oil is also carried out in certain parts of the district.
Health
Although the district is yet to have a district government hospital it has the second largest Hospital in the western – St. Martins de Porres Hospital at Eikwe. There are other health centres and CHPs which are concentrated in the southern sector.
Tourism
Ellembelle has a number of tourist attractions and social investment areas. It is the home of many water bodies and beautiful beaches e.g. Ankobra and Mufre rivers, Kikam, Esiama, Ankobra and Atuabo beaches and a vast stretch of wetlands e.g. Amanzure Wetlands . The Ankobra River joins the Atlantic Ocean to the east of the district forming one of the most beautiful estuaries on the continent of Africa. These water bodies can be developed for sports tourism such as yachting and skimming.
It has a number of historical monuments and ancient relics that can be developed for cultural & historical tourism e.g. the original mausoleum of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana, the Kwame Nkrumah Motel which served as residence for the first president of Ghana each time he visited his hometown and Nkroful oil factory. Also, the on-going oil and gas exploration and production offers an enormous opportunity for special interest tourism in the areas of hospitality, food chain, hotels and restaurants among others. The vast stretch of virgin forest and fertile arable farmlands can serve as Agro-tourism e.g. organic farming where no fertilizer is required.
There are three forest reserves in the District, namely; Shelter Forest Reserve, Draw River Forest Reserve, and Ndumfri Forest Reserve. We also boast of a relatively new but well-developed and vibrant gold mine – Adamus Resource Ltd, in the ripe stage of becoming a world class mining tourism resource.