South Dayi District
South Dayi District is one of the eighteen districts in Volta Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Kpando District on 10 March 1989, until the southern part of the district was split off by a decree of president John Agyekum Kufuor on 19 August 2004 to create South Dayi District; thus the remaining part has been retained as Kpando District. The district assembly is located in the western part of Volta Region and has Kpeve as its capital town.
Background
The is one of the eighteen districts in the Volta Region of Ghana. They are made up of 6 municipal and 12 ordinary districts since the referendum and subsequent redemarcation of regions in December 2018.Boundaries
The district covers part of what was formerly the southern part of the old Kpando district, thus reducing the latter's size. The South Dayi district lies between latitude 3°20N and 3.5°05N. It is approximately on longitude 0°17 E. The district has a total area of 1,000 km² with the Volta Lake, the largest artificial lake in the world, covering about 20% of this.The South Dayi District is bounded by:
- Afadjato South District, Volta Lake and Kpando Municipal District to the north;
- the Volta Lake to the west
- the Asuogyaman District in the Eastern Region to the south and
- Ho West District to the east.
Climate and vegetation
The climate is tropical and is influenced largely by the southwest monsoons from across the South Atlantic Ocean which bring in the rain and the North Easterly Trade Winds blowing in the dry harmattan across the Sahara Desert. The major rainy season is between mid April and early July while the minor one is from September to November. The harmattan/dry season is between November and March.There are two main types of vegetation. The guinea savanna woodlands covers the Dayi basin and consists of scattered trees including acacia, bamboos, and baobabs. In the region of Tsatee, Kpalime and Dzemeni are the semi-deciduous forests found on the slopes of the Akwapim-Togo-Atakora range.
Topography
The Akwapim-Togo-Atakora range forms a large part of the eastern border of the district with the exception of Wegbe Kpalime which is just at the base of its eastern slope. The topography is an undulating one due to the large numbers of ridges and hills scattered throughout the district. Some of these hills are Tsatee, Akpato, Amekulotoe, Gleme and Abanyakoe.Population
The population from the 2021 census was estimated at 57,526 with a growth rate of 1.9%. The sex distribution is 50.1% female and 49.9% male. The young, make up 33.5% of the population while the 15 to 64 year old group are 60.2% and those 65 and over are 6.3%. Peki Avetile and Peki Dzake are the most populated towns in the district. Almost 50% of the total population is found in the Peki Traditional Area. The district also covers the Kpalime, Kpeve and Tongor traditional areas. The other main towns in this district include Kpeve (New Town) the capital, Peki Adzokoe, Peki Dzake, Peki-Dzogbati, Peki Sanga, Todome, Wegbe Kpalime and Dzemeni.Festivals
Festivals in South Dayi district include Gbi Dukorza celebrated by Peki and Hohoe, Kpalikpakpa zã celebrated by Kpalime and Tongor Traditional Areas, Yam festivals celebrated all over the district and the Glimetso zã celebrated by Kpeve, Klefe, Klikor, Tsorxor and Tsibu.Settlements
In addition to Kpeve, the capital and administrative centre, South Dayi District contains the following towns:Governance
District Assembly
South Dayi District Assembly was set up by Legislative Instrument No. 1753 of 2004. It is the highest political and administrative authority according to the Local Government Act of 1993. The jurisdiction of the local government involved the South Dayi Constituency, twelve electoral areas, two councils and two units. There are currently 21 electoral areas each of which elects a person onto the District Assembly. The District Assembly has twenty members. Seven of them are appointed. The district is headed by a District Executive who is appointed by the President of Ghana in consultation with the local District Assembly. There are an additional six members who are also appointed by government. The other thirteen members are elected representatives. They include the Member of Parliament for South Dayi who also represents the district in the national parliament and twelve additional elected members of the assembly. The MP is elected during national general elections. The other twelve members are elected through local district assembly elections. The Assembly elects a Presiding Member who holds the office for a two-year term. It also has an Executive Committee which is chaired by the District Chief Executive. There are five sub-committees mandated by section 24 of the Local Government Act, 1993. These are the Development Planning, Finance and Administration, Justice and Security, Works and the Public Relations and Complaints sub-committees.Electoral assembly members
The current elected members of the South Dayi assembly are as follows.| Electoral Area | Elected Representative | Comments |
| Avetile East | Bobi John Ransford | |
| Avetile West | Seyram Kafui Akude | |
| Dzemeni East | Thomas Avuwadah | |
| Dzemeni West | Lotsoo George Bada | |
| Kpalime Duga | Prosper Ofosu | |
| Kpeve New Town | David KwasiAkukumah | |
| Peki Adzokoe | Timothy Freeman Kotope | |
| Peki Agbate | Courage Otchi | |
| Peki Blengo | Ophilia Bediako – Nani | |
| Peki Dzake | Victor Amegbe | |
| Peki Dzogbati | Alexander Kwami Addo | |
| Peki Tsame | Mark Dzebu | |
| Peki Wudome | Wellington Elukpedzu | |
| Sanga | John Kwesi Ahiati | |
| To Kpalime | Christian Jerry Owusu | |
| Todome | Eric Senaya | |
| Tongor Kaira | Godwin Gaitu | |
| Tongor Tsanakpe | Blessed Vincent Dagbey | |
| Tsate | Daniel Ofori-Attor | |
| Tsiyinu | Christian Yao Dorvlo | |
| Wegbe Kpalime | Fred Nani |
District Chief Executives
The current District Chief Executive, Ernest Patrick Kodzo Mallet was appointed by Nana Akufo-Addo in June 2017. The past chief executives have been:- Woyiram Boakye-Danquah - and
- Kafui Bekui -
Sub districts
There are two sub-districts. These are the Peki Town Council and the Tongor Kaira Area Council. The Peki Town Council is urban in nature and has its headquarters at Peki Avetile. Peki has a lot of educational institutions including secondary and tertiary institutions. It also has a government hospital and good water and electricity supplies.The Tongor Area Council consists of small communities and townships. It has a lively market at Dzemeni.