BACKGROUND OF THE ANLOGA DISTRICT
The Anloga District was carved out of the Keta Municipality and it is currently one of the 18 Administrative Municipal/Districts of the Volta Region of Ghana with capital located at Anloga. It was established by the Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 2372 of 2018 and inaugurated on the 19th of February 2019.
The District is located east of the Volta estuary, about 160km to the east of Accra, off the Accra-Aflao main road and lies within Longitudes 0.53E and 0.89W and Latitudes 5.47N and 5.79S. It shares common borders with Keta Municipality to the east, South Tongu District to the west, Akatsi South district to the North and the Gulf of Guinea to the south.
The total population of the district is projected at 107,926 by 2021. This comprises 53.6 per cent females and 46.4 per cent males with an annual growth rate of 2.5 per cent. The district is the most urbanised district in the region with more than half 54.6 per cent of the districtâs population living in the urban areas with 45.4 per cent of the population living in the rural areas as shown in the table below:
The most predominant religion in the district is Christian religion, constituting about 72.8 per cent of the population followed by traditional religion of 25.4 per cent; Islam constitutes one per cent and other religion less than one per cent.
Ewes are historically the traditional ethnic group in the district constituting 98.7 per cent while the other tribes constitute the remaining 1.3 per cent (GSS, 2010). This indicates that the population of the district is highly homogeneous ethnicity.
The main festival is the Hogbetsotso, which symbolizes the great exodus of Ewes from their ancestral home, Notsie, in the republic of Togo to their present abode around the 15th Century. The Hogbetsotso Festival, which is celebrated at Anloga, the traditional home of the Anlos, is crowned with a grand durbar of chiefs and people amidst pomp and pageantry on the first Saturday in November.
Anloga District is mainly an agrarian economy, with the majority of the population engaged (35%) engaged as skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers. This is followed by craft and related trades workers (25.4%) and services and sales workers accounting for 21.8 per cent. Clerical support workers and technicians and associate professionals recorded the lowest with
(1%) and (1.2%) respectively. The major crops grown are mainly vegetables which includes onion/shallot, okro, tomato and pepper. The district is noted as one of the highest producers of shallot and tomatoes in the country. Other types of crops grown are cassava, maize, sugar cane and rice. Opportunities exist for the processing of these products into finished and semi-finished products. Additionally, Anloga District is endowed with numerous water bodies, with a high potential for fisheries development. Fishing is carried out in the sea, lagoons and rivers. Fishing gears used include beach seine, Ali, Polo, Watsa, Set nets and Drift gill nets. In addition, opportunities exist for several culture systems to be practiced which include marine culture, oyster culture, shrimp culture, brackish water culture, cage culture, pen culture etc.
The Anloga District is largely and virtually an Anlo, a sub-division of the larger Ewe tribe of West Africa, found in the Republic of Ghana, Republic of Benin and beyond, homogenous society, since the district capital (DC) of Anloga District has a dual role as the traditional capital of the Anlo State (AS), whose traditional custodian and overlord is known as the Awomefia, who is the Paramount Chief of the Anlo State, who also doubled as the President of the Anlo Traditional Council (ATC).
Since the DC is also the traditional capital (TC) of the Anlo State, its inhabitants are predominantly Ewes, whose main occupation is subsistence and commercial fishing and farming, with a very scanty and negligible few other tribes as inhabitants, who are either public and civil servants working with public institutions including teachers, the police and fire services, the courts, health experts and practitioners students and businessmen and women among others.
TOURISM OVERVIEW OF ANLOGA DISTRICT
Anloga District has unique and attractive competitive tourism resources and potential, which when prioritized and strategically harnessed would transform and put the District, Region and the Country as a whole in the international tourism spotlight as an attractive and competitive cash-cow destination.â Notable among the tourism destinations in the district are as follows;
- WATER BODIES AND ASSOCIATED LIFE FORMS
- The Atlantic Ocean from Tegbi to Fuveme: The sea, thought quite boisterous, possesses great potential for tourism development. The high waves are ideal for surf riding and wind surfing. The windy atmosphere also promotes the setting up of recreational facilities along the beach for tourists. The shelf is also extremely rich in predatory fishes such as barracuda, sharks, blue marlin, salt fish, horse mackerel, anchovies, sardines and sardinella. There is also a variety of shell fish including crabs, squid or cuttle fish, lobsters and shrimps. Other sea creatures such as dolphins and in some cases sea cows can be found in the waters.
- Ramsar Site:: The Anlo-Keta wetlands is designated important national Ramsar Site, it provides sanctuary for several local and migratory birds including water fowls.
The Anlo-Keta Ramsar Site also hosts several migratory birds that fly and patronize the Mediterranean and the South-Atlantic flyway, some of the bird species nest, rest, feed and breed at the site include the various types of terns and gulls.
- Seasonal Sea Turtles: The District records a lot of seasonal sea turtles which come on-shore to lay eggs for hatching specifically at Dakordzi and Akplorwotorkor, annually during the months of August to March and this provide very beautiful attractive scenes to behold.
- Mangrove swamps and Water Sports: The Anloga District is blessed with and has beautiful mangrove swamps, creeks and lagoons including the Keta and Angaw Lagoons. These lagoons provide calm water bodies for cruising and for other water sporting activities including Dragon Boating. There are Water Sport Associations in the District who engage in annual competitions, which markets and attracts tourists and other visitors including prospective and potential investors to the district. The Lagoons have several islands which serve as sanctuary for residents and beautiful migratory birds. Along the main Angaw, Avu, and part of Keta lagoon are very extensive stretches of beautiful Mangrove Swamps. The Swamps are very suitable for recreation and research activities. They are also known to have a significant ecological function including flood control and enhancement of fish production, along the main Anloga-Keta Angaw, Avu lagoon are very extensive stretches of swamps for fuel wood.
- Clean and Beautiful Beaches: The Anloga District is blessed with several kilometres of very clean and unique golden beaches in the country which can offer places of relaxation to tourists. The beaches drenched in brilliant sunshine have sands ranging from fine to coarse grained types. The coconut clad sandy beaches are interspersed with bare sandy surfaces stretching across the district.
- CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL ATTRACTIONS
The District is again very rich in cultural heritage and historical monuments. The major ones are:
- Festivals: The Awomefia, his sub-chiefs, elders and subjects have and celebrate Hogbetsotso, a very popular and prominent cultural heritage festival annually with a number of cultural rituals and activities including stool cleansing, community clean-ups, reconciliations and others.
Hogbetsotso is an Ewe cultural heritage, which recalls and re-enacts the great exodus of the Ewe tribe forbearers and ancestors from their ancestral home called Notsie, in the present day Republic of Togo, to their present abode.
During Hogbetsotso celebrations, religious and cultural arts and artefacts, agricultural products and other rare Ewe cultural practices and values are displayed and exhibited.
The Hogbetsotso celebration is crowned with a grand durbar by the Awomefia, his sub-chiefs, queens and queen mothers, their elders and subjects on first Saturday in November at Anloga, their traditional capital. The durbar attracts a lot of visitors and tourists from home and abroad.
- Atorkor Slave Market: The Atorkor Slave Market in the district is one of the ancient slave markets in the Volta Region and second to Keta, which were the epic centres during the infamous slave trade and slavery era. The Atorkor Monument reminds us of the cordial and profitable coastal trade relations between the Anlos and the Asantes on the coast as a result of the good historical relations between them and the Ewe during the slave trade era.
Atorkor was an important slave market and link, for human ware from the Asante during the infamous slave trade.
The assembly intends to re-reengineer the existing slavery monument, to upgrade and transform the place into an international UNESCO accredited slavery centre.
- Cape ST. Pauls Light House at Woe: This ancient light house is located in Woe, (part of the district) built in 1901. It is a vital part of districtâs coast line. Still functioning, it is used to direct ships at night away from what is believed to be a big submerged mountain just off the coast of Woe. It is reportedly the oldest lighthouse in the country making climbing it an interesting if somewhat daunting adventure. Upon climbing to the top, you will be rewarded with the fantastic views of districtâs beautiful sandy beaches, the Atlantic Oceanand Woeâs famous farming lands.
- Cultural Drumming: There are several cultural drumming groups which can entertain tourists visiting the district. These groups include Dodovi drumming troupe from Tegbi, Fafali drumming troupe from Agbledomi, Vovoli drumming troupe from Dzita, Wonder Drumming troupe from Dzita. There is also Kinka, Agbadza, Gahu, Akpaluviawo drumming troupes among others.
- Cemeteries: Other interesting attractions worth noting are the cemeteries of some families and individuals. Depending on the deceasedâs background, a chief would have a statue of a chief moulded on his grave; similarly, a chief-fisherman would have a statue depicting his occupational pursuit moulded on his grave. Notable among these is the monument of General E.K Kotoka Memorial Mausoleum. The late General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, General Officer Commanding (GOC), Ghana Armed Forces, who together with the late William Harley, then Commissioner of Police (COP), led the historic but infamous coup that deposed the then Government in 1966 is a prominent citizen of a town known as Fiaxor in Anloga District. There is a memorial monument decorated by a statue of Gen. Kotoka at Fiaxor, which attracts visitors. The Assembly plans to transform the mausoleum with a modern museum as an international research centre and facility.
- VISITOR RECEPTIVE FACILITIES
- Hotels and Guesthouses: Anloga district is full of beautiful hotels and guesthouses which includes; The Chill River Resport at Tunu, Eli Hotel at Tegbi, Abutia Guest House at Woe, Max Guest House at Tegbi, Hotel de White House at Anloga, Twins Lodge Hotel at Tegbi, Larota Guest House at Tegbi, Pin Drop Hotel at Anloga, Dzigbordi Lodge at Anloga, Meet Me There African lodge at Dzita, Mai Victory GH at Whuti, My Lordâs Guesthouse at Anloga, Mamasay Homestay at Srogbe, etc. all at a good and reasonably prices. Most of them offer plenty of activities to keep you entertained, such as: swimming and canoeing on the salt water lagoon, boat trips down the Volta River to the sea, dancing and drumming lessons, nocturnal turtle patrols, live music, reggae nights. With these opportunities, investors are sure of secured and safe accommodation.