CHAPTER FIVE
Date - 14/Sep/2016
. Economic Infrastructure
5.1. Road
Over three quarters of the road length of feeder roads in the Districts have now been reshaped or worked upon.
The District has two (2) major trunk roads, namely; Lawra-Nandom-Hamile road, Nandom-Ko and Lambussie-Nandom road. Lawra-Nandom-Hamile road continues to receive attention, than the Nandom-Ko and Lambussie-Nandom road which makes it become increasingly unmotorable due to the many pot holes and heavy corrugations on the road.
The only tarred portion of the District roads happened to be the road linking the Nandom Hospital and the Nandom townships. However, the District is not linked by any tarred road. It is hoped that the speedy investment on the road linking the District and beyond in the area of tarring could go a long way to increase the potentials of the District.
Energy
Energy supply in the district is a real concern in the district. Majority of households (41%) still use kerosene as their source of energy for lighting whiles firewood and charcoal still serve as the main sources of energy for cook, a situation that continues to deplete the vegetation. There is therefore the need to extend electricity to un-served communities and ensure access to LPG in the district.
Table 15: Source of energy for lighting
| Source | Total | % | Urban | Rural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 8,551 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| Electricity (mains) | 2,309 | 27.0 | 75.9 | 17.1 |
| Electricity (private generator) | 43 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
| Kerosene lamp | 3,540 | 41.4 | 19.7 | 45.9 |
| Gas lamp | 26 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Solar energy | 80 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.8 |
| Candle | 9 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Flashlight/Torch | 2,309 | 27.0 | 2.7 | 31.9 |
| Firewood | 205 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 2.8 |
| Crop residue | 51 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Other | 9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
Source: GSS-Nandom (2014)
Post and Telecommunication Services
Postal Services
The District currently has one (1) post office which has limited services and very inactive. More often than not, most people travel to the adjourning district to have postal services. There is therefore the need to expand its services and put in place the requisite staff and logistics to make it vibrant to serve the people.It is the expectation of the District that such postal agencies could be established in the KO, Puffien and Baseble areas in order to improve upon the postal services in the District.
Telecommunication
There has been a massive improvement on the telecommunication front. Almost all villages and communities have access to one or either mobile network. The District currently has the following telecommunication facilities.
- Vodafone
- MTN
- Tigo
- Glo
- Airtel
The mobile usage has been widely accepted by the citizens of the District. It has equally created a lot of employment for the youth, especially in the area retailing of recharge units, transfer of units and Money Transfers.
Coverage of mobile phone services is limited to some areas of the District and signals from major mobile services providers like one touch, MTN and Tigo can be obtained in different parts of the District, but not total coverage.
The communications network in Nandom District is generally improving. Radio FREED and Radio Von are currently operating as the two radio stations in the district and has very wide coverage beyond the District. This makes information dissemination in the District very effective and helps in easy education and response from the grassroots in participatory development agendas.
However, the effectiveness of these networks is greatly reduced due to very frequent and constant jam of the air waves.