Day Tour - Accra

Coordinates: 5° 33′ N, 0° 13′ W

Accra is the capital and largest city in Ghana with the population of the city proper estimated at 3,963,264 as of 2011. Accra also doubles as the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District with which it is coterminous. Accra is also the anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area called the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area and includes eight districts - Accra Metropolitan, Tema Metropolitan, Ga East Municipal, Ga West Municipal, Ga South Municipal, Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipal, Ashaiman Municipal and Adenta Municipal. It is home to about 4 million people, making it the largest metropolitan conglomeration in the country by population.

As a primate city, Accra is the administrative, communications, and economic centre of the country. Originally built around a port, Accra stretches along the Atlantic Coast and north into the interior. Serving as the nation’s capital, then the Gold Coast, from 1877 its architecture ranges from large and elegant nineteenth century colonial buildings to skyscrapers and apartment blocks made of concrete, glass and steel in the 1970s, reflecting its transition from a 19th century suburb of Victoriaborg to the modern metropolis it is today.

Spreading along the Atlantic coast, the city is well endowed with luxury as well as great value hotels, excellent restaurants and night clubs. A range of absorbing museums and fine public monuments, modern business and commercial areas, as well as busy markets and tree-lined residential suburbs, is ready to be explored Since the early 1990s a number of new buildings have been built, including the multi-storey Novotel hotel which is French-owned. There is also an impressive National Theatre that was built with help from the Chinese.
The centre of Accra contains the main banks, the large department stores, the Cocoa Marketing board headquarters and a whole area known as The Ministries, where the government administration is concentrated. Economic activities in Accra are financial, agriculture, fishing, and manufacturing processed food, lumber and plywood, textiles, clothing and chemicals.

The word Accra is derived from the word Nkran meaning "ants" in Akan, a reference to the numerous anthills seen in the countryside around Accra. The city was first settled in the 15th century when the Ga people migrated there after leaving their previous settlement at Ayawaso, ten miles (16 km) north of Accra. The site was advantageous as it removed the Ga people from the Akwamu people who were their rivals. Initially, Accra was not the most prominent trading center but the ports at Ada and Prampram, along with the inland centers of Dodowa and Akusa to the east. However, Accra took on more importance serving as a center for trade during the slave trade with the Europeans who had built forts nearby: James Fort and Ussher Fort. This went on until the abolition of the slave trade in 1807. Later the Portuguese, followed by the Swedish, Dutch, French, British and Danish built forts in the town by the 17th century.
In the 1850s, Denmark sold Christiansborg and their other castles to the British. In 1873, after decades of an uneasy relationship between the British and the Asante people of central Ghana, the British attacked and virtually destroyed the Asante capital of Kumasi, and officially declared Ghana a crown colony. The British then captured Accra in 1874, and in 1877, at the end of the second Anglo-Asante War, Accra replaced Cape Coast as the capital of the British Gold Coast colony because Accra had a drier climate relative to Cape Coast, and was not home to the tsetse fly hence allowing the use animal transport. Until this time, the settlement of Accra was confined between the Ussher Fort to the East and the Korle Lagoon to the West.
However, with the influx of Europeans that came as the administrative functions were moved to Accra, the city began to expand to accommodate the new residents. Thus, Victoriaborg was formed in the late nineteenth century as an exclusive European residential neighbourhood, located to the East of the city limits of the time. The boundaries of Accra were further stretched in 1908 as a result of the bubonic plague. This expansion entailed the creation of a native-only neighbourhood, designed to accommodate members of the native population as a means of relieving congestion problems in the overcrowded city center. Adabraka was, thus, established to the north of the city center to serve as an enclave for the town's growing Muslim population
One of the most influential decisions in the history of the city was that of building the Accra-Kumasi railway in 1908. This was to connect Accra, the major port at that time, with Ghana's main cocoa producing regions. In 1923, the railway was completed and by 1924 cocoa was Ghana's largest export. Accra was the main exporter of cocoa until 1928 and this was one of the main reasons for its rapid growth.
The British government heavily influenced the shape that Accra took during this period. For example, racial segregation of neighbourhoods was mandated by law until 1923, and all new buildings were required to be built out of stone or concrete. Despite these regulations, the British government was very hesitant to invest any large amount of money into the city to maintain its infrastructure or improve the public works. This did not change until the governorship of Sir Frederick Gordon Guggisberg. Among the achievements of Sir Frederick Gordon Guggisberg was the building of a bridge across the Korle Lagoon in 1923, which opened the land west of the lagoon for settlement. He also oversaw the building hospitals and schools. This led to an increase of Accra’s population due to migration of rural people into the city, and the immigration of increasing numbers of European businessmen and administrators.

In the years following World War II, the neighbourhoods of Ridge and Cantonments were planned as low-density developments for Europeans, while many of the rural migrants settled in neighbourhoods such as Nima or Accra New Town that had not yet been incorporated into Accra's municipal boundary. Thus, the development of these neighbourhoods was unregulated by the government, creating a crowded and jumbled landscape. Another era in Accra that took shape during the post-WWII years was the CBD. More administrative buildings were built on High Street, including a massive judicial/administrative complex. Additionally, many more commercial buildings were built in the CBD. In this era, Maxwell Fry was appointed as Accra's planner, and in 1944 he devised a town plan that was revised in 1958 by B.D.W. Treavallion and Alan Flood. Although this plan was never followed through, it illustrates the British vision of how Accra should develop.

In the Fry/Treavallion plan, a reorganization of the CBD was called for, as well as the development of the coastal region of the city. In order to reorganize the CBD, the planners decided to superimpose a tight grid north of Fort Ussher. To the east this newly organized CBD, the planners hoped to preserve a broad open space for a restaurant, country club, and polo and cricket fields. Additionally, the British planners wanted to build large numbers of public squares, fountains and ornamental pools and statues throughout the city, and build a vast Parliament Complex in downtown. Lastly, the Fry/Treavallion plan included plans to make the coastal region an extension of the exclusive European neighbourhood of Victoriaborg, and create a recreational preserve for the elite. However, by the British colonial government was overthrown before the Fry/Treavallion plan was enacted.

When Kwame Nkrumah became Prime Minister in 1957, he created his own plan for Accra's development. Instead of creating spaces to serve the elite, Nkrumah sought to create spaces to inspire pride and nationalism in his people and people throughout Africa. Rather than creating public squares and fountains and building a large Parliament complex, Nkrumah decided to build Independence Square, the State House, the Organization of African Unity building, and refurbished Christianborg Castle.
With regards to the coastal region, Nkrumah decided to leave it undeveloped as to not detract attention away from the Community Center or Independence Square, lending both spaces symbolic significance. In fact, the significance of the nationalist struggle is very apparent in the landscape of Accra. In central Accra, the National Museum, the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, and Independence Square all speak to the importance of this event. The Nkrumah plan did not emphasize order nearly as much as the Fry/Treavallion plan did. Whereas the British plan strove to lessen crowded of the commercial district and help relieve the overcrowding of neighborhoods bordering the CBD, the Nkrumah plan allowed for continued compression of commercial establishments in the CBD, as well as increased migration into Jamestown.

The site of present-day Accra developed into a sizable town around the original Ga town as well as British, Danish and Dutch forts and their surrounding communities: Jamestown near the British James fort, Osu near the Danish fort of Christiansborg (now Osu Castle) and Ussherstown near the Dutch Ussher fort. The four areas form the core of the modern city. Today, Accra has several tourists’ attractions such as the National Museum of Ghana, the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Archives of Ghana, and Ghana's central library, the National Theatre, Accra Centre for National Culture, a lighthouse, the National Sports Stadium among others. It is also a major transportation hub, home to the Kotoka International Airport and lies on railway lines to Tema, Takoradi and Kumasi.

Due to its early founding around the British, Danish, and Dutch forts, central Accra is compact. Over the years, however, with in-migration from rural areas, the city has expanded with no regard to zoning, giving it a sprawled attribute. The city of Accra has a total area of 200km2 and is the anchor city of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) which is made up of the Accra Metropolitan District, Tema Metropolitan District, Ga South Municipal District, Ga East Municipal District, Ga West Municipal District, Adenta Municipal District, Ashaiman Municipal District, Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipal District, and the town of Kasoa in the Awutu Senya District of the Central Region. The intersection of the Lafa stream and Mallam junction serves as thewestern border of the city. The Great Hall of the University of Ghana forms the northern border, while the Nautical College forms the eastern border. The Gulf of Guinea forms the southern border. These borders notwithstanding, conflict points with adjoining districts exists, resulting in a de-facto shrinking of the city limits.

Accra Central
The Ring Road, extending from the Korle Lagoon in the west, north to Kwame Nkrumah Circle, following east to the juncture of Independence Avenue, and continuing on to Osu, forms a ring around the oldest districts of Accra and separates central Accra from the outlying suburbs. Central Accra includes the CBD, which consists of the historic districts of Usshertown, Tudu, Victoriaborg, West Ridge, and East Ridge as well as the historic residential districts of Jamestown, Adabraka, Asylum Down, North Ridge and Christiansborg/Osu. Although satellite business districts have been established across the city such as the Airport City, Central Accra remains the administrative and cultural center of Accra, hosting the nation's government ministries, hotels and businesses, and is the headquarters of many major financial institutions in Ghana. Central Accra's principal attractions include the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, the National Museum, Independence Square, the National Theatre, and the Ohene Djan Stadium.

Accra North
Northern Accra is a residential and business centre of Accra. The area also contains important landmarks such as the "37" Military Hospital, Golden Jubilee House, several important embassies, Achimota School, Achimota Golf Park, and the University of Ghana's Legon campus, which serves as the city's northern boundary. Geographically, for the purposes of this article, the areas north of Ring Road West & Central, east of Winneba/Graphic Road, and west of Liberation Road will be regarded as Northern Accra. The districts just north and south of the Kwame Nkrumah motorway will also be included in this classification. With the dispute in the border between the Accra Metropolitan Area and the Ga East Municipality, the settlements of West Legon/Westlands, Achimota, and Christian Village, which are west of the University of Ghana and located in the Ga East Municipal area are sometimes included as neighborhoods in the city of Accra.

Accra East
Eastern Accra is largely residential, and geographically north of Ring Road east as far north as Kwame Nkrumah motorway and bordered to the west by Liberation road.

Accra West
Western Accra is largely a residential & business area of the capital of Ghana. While geographically less expansive than the northern and eastern reaches of the city as a result of the large saltponds of Tettegu & Aplaku, it nonetheless boasts of one of Accra's most important landmarks - the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. Geographically, the areas west of Ring Road west as far west as the saltponds and south of Graphic Road are considered Accra West.

Accra lies in the Savannah zone and features a tropical savanna climate. There are two rainy seasons. The average annual rainfall is about 730mm, which falls primarily during the two rainy seasons. The first begins in May and ends in mid-July. The second season begins in mid-August and ends in October. Rain usually falls in intensive short storms and give rise to local flooding where drainage channels are obstructed.
There is very little variation in temperature throughout the year. The mean monthly temperature ranges from 24.7 °C (76.5 °F) in August (the coolest) to 28 °C (82.4 °F) in March (the hottest) with annual average of 26.8 °C (80.2 °F). It should be noted, however, that the "cooler" months tend to be more humid than the warmer months. As a result, during the warmer months and particularly during the windy harmattan season, it's a breezy "dry heat" and doesn't feel as warm as the more humid but "cooler" rainy season.
As the area is close to the equator, the daylight hours are practically uniform during the year. Relative humidity is generally high varying from 65% in the mid-afternoon to 95% at night. The predominant wind direction in Accra is from the WSW to NNE sectors. Wind speeds normally range between 8 to 16 km/h. High wind gusts occur with thunderstorm activity, which pass in squall along the coast.
The maximum wind speed record in Accra is 107.4 km/h (58 knots). Strong winds associated with thunderstorm activity often cause damage to property by removing roofing material. Several areas of Accra experience micro climatic effects. Low profile drainage basins with a north-south orientation are not as well ventilated as that orientated east west. Air is often trapped in pockets and an insulation effect gives rise to local increase in air temperature of several degrees. This occurs in the Accra Newtown sports complex areas.

With a population of about 1,695,136 people (2000 National Population Census), Accra is today one of the most populated and fast growing Metropolis of Africa with an annual growth rate of 3.36%. The period between 1960 and 1970 saw some of the rapid industrialisation and expansion in the manufacturing and commercial sectors in some major areas within the metropolis. This factor contributed to high immigration to Accra, and the resultant high population growth rate between 1960-1970 intercensal years The stagnation of the Ghanaian Economy during the 1970s had adverse effect on the growth rate of Accra’s population as shown in the growth rate of the 1970-1984 intercensal years. The decline in agriculture in rural communities in Ghana and industrialisation in urban regions coupled with the late 1980s and 1990s boom in the service sector in primate cities propelled immigration to Accra. The primacy of the Accra Metropolitan Area as an administrative, educational, industrial and commercial centre in attracting people from all over Ghana, continues to be the major force for rapid population growth, with migration contributing to over 35% of the population increase.

The gross density of population for Accra Metropolitan Area in 2000 was 10.03 person per hectare compared to 6.23 per ha. in 1970. The highest densities were recorded in Accra Metropolitan Assembly with an overall average of 69.3-person per/ha. At the Community level, densities exceeding 250 persons/ha occurred mostly in the dominant immigrant and depressed areas and the oldest parts of Accra such as Accra New Town, Nima, James Town and Ussher Town while densities ranged between 17.5 - 40 persons/ha. in the high-income areas.

Accra’s population like that of other urban centres is a very youthful one with 56.% of the population under the age of 24years. The area is not expected to decline in the foreseeable future, short of a change in the pro-natalist tendencies among Ghanaians and an improvement in the impact of family planning, which has so far been limited. Fifty-one percent (51%) of the population are females and the remaining 49% males. This gives a sex ratio of 1:1.04 males to females. The dominance of females over males is a reflection of the nationwide trend where the estimated ratio is 1:1.03. the need to target women in any development programme in the metropolis can therefore not be overemphasised.

There is an inner city area comprising a mixture of very low-density development with under-utilised service infrastructure on the one hand, indigenous, low class, and high-density development with depressed conditions and over stretched infrastructure services on the other. According to statistics available, urban centres in the country are rapidly growing, especially the Accra metropolis. This rapid growth had led to the neglect of some of the old indigenous settlements, whilst efforts are being made to provide the newly developing suburban areas with services and infrastructure to cater for the needs of the middle-income earners mostly found there. The result is that the older indigenous areas of Accra like Ga Mashie among others which are the historical and cultural repository of the Nation, are experiencing decay. This calls for proactive measures at inner city revitalisation to address this issue. The peripheral residential development is usually haphazard, with barely sufficient infrastructure to support it. There are also large numbers of uncompleted houses inter-dispersed with pockets of undeveloped land which are often subject of litigation, or the inability of organisations and individuals who own it to complete or develop due to the lack of funds. Housing can be grouped into 3 broad categories: the low income, middle income and high income areas. The low income housing zones may be divided into indigenous and non-indigenous (dominantly migrant) areas. The low-income indigenous housing areas comprise Osu, Jamestown, Adedenkpo, Chorkor, La, Teshie and Nungua. The low-income non-indigenous housing areas include: Sukura, Kwashieman, Odorkor, Bubiashie, Abeka, Nima, Maamobi and Chorkor. Altogether these areas accommodate about 58% of Accra’s population. Most of the informal businesses are located in low-income areas and they are the first place of abode for any new job-seeking migrant.

Almost all low-income areas are built up with little room for expansion. This is particularly so in the indigenous areas of the inner city. Conditions are generally depressed with poor supporting social and engineering infrastructure. Buildings are of poor quality material such as mud, untreated timber and zinc roofing sheets for walling. The housing environment is characterised by haphazard development, inadequate housing infrastructure, poor drainage, erosion and high population concentrations. The middle-income areas are predominantly business, administrative and professional income families. Much of the housing has been provided by state, parastatal and private sector organisations and individuals. They include areas like Dansoman Estates, North Kaneshie Estates, Asylum Down, Kanda Estates, Abelempke, Achimota and Tesano. Usually, these areas, unlike the low income areas, are planned but are in need of infrastructure services. Building materials and general housing conditions are of better quality. The middle-income group comprises 32% of the population. The high-income areas provide housing for the remaining 10% of the population. They include areas like North and West Ridge, Ringway Estates, north Labone Estates, Airport Residential Area, Roman Ridge, East Legon. These areas are all planned and have well developed infrastructure with spacious and landscaped ground in sharp contrast with, particularly, the low income areas, Buildings are usually built with sandcrete blocks, they have walls and roofed with aluminium, or asbestos roofing sheets. There are also high-income peripheral areas like Hatso, Adenta, Taifa, Mallam where development of engineering infrastructure is not yet complete. These areas developed ahead of infrastructure and consequently lack almost all utility services. Building materials used are similar to those in the middle and high-income zones. It will be realised that in general, 84.4% of all houses in the Accra Metropolis have their outside walls made up of cement as compared to 63.3% and 44.8% for other urban areas and the nation respectively. Similarly, houses found within the Accra Metropolis have 99.2% of floor materials made up of cement while the figures for other urban areas and the nation are 95.1% and 84.7% respectively. It can therefore be inferred that although in some instances, low income areas have exhibited poor housing conditions, the general conditions of houses in the Accra Metropolis is good compared with the national figures and that of other urban areas . It must however be mentioned that whilst efforts are being made to provide the newly developing suburban areas with services and infrastructure the older areas of Accra including Ga Mashie, which are the historical and cultural repository of the Nation, are experiencing decay and measures should be taken to reverse this trend. Conditions are much worse in the low-income areas with very high pressures on facilities – about 30 person per toilet, 48 persons per kitchen and 22 persons per bathroom. This is either due to inadequate facilities, conversion of facility spaces to some other uses other than the kind of facility provided for.

Top of Page