Winneba is a town and the capital of

Effutu Municipal District Effutu Municipal District is one of the twenty-two districts in Central Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Awutu/Effutu/Senya District in 1988, until the southwest part of the district was split off by a decree of ...

in Central Region of South

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. Winneba has a population of 55,331. Winneba, traditionally known as ''Simpa'', is a historic fishing port in south Ghana, lying on the south coast, east of

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city, fishing port, and the capital of Cape Coast Metropolitan District and Central Region of Ghana. It is one of the country's most historic cities, a World Heritage Site, home to the Cape Coast Castle, with the Gulf of Guinea ...

. The current member of parliament is

Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin (born 27 May 1978) is the Member of the Parliament of Ghana for the Effutu constituency, Central Region. He also serves as a member of the committee on Defense and Interior Committee in Ghana Parliament. He is cur ...

History

From pre-colonial times through the establishment of the British colony the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, (Effutu) Winneba served as a

port town A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...

. Fort Winneba was built here. The people of Winneba ( Efutu) were led by their fearless spiritual leader and

warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been p ...

, Kwamena Gyarteh Ayirebi-Gyan with the support of a large youthful

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

called the Asafo Groups made up of both men and women. He ensured that his people were well protected from external attacks by other migrating families,

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

s, diseases or want of

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...

Industry and culture

The main industries of Winneba are

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

and services. It is known for the Aboakyer

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

-hunting festival in Winneba and its New Year fancy dress carnival/masquerading festival. The town has a rich musical tradition and currently boasts of several renowned musical groups in the country, including the Winneba Youth Choir, the Osimpam Ompeh group, and the Akoo show Choir. Winneba Senior High School is the only major public secondary cycle educational institute available in this town. The University of Education, Winneba has its three main campus in Winneba (South Campus, Central Campus, North Campus ).

Festivals

Masquerade festival, popularly known as fancy dress, is held every new year among the people of Winneba. Its attracts a large number of tourists around the world. It is the second most popular festival in Winneba. The festival is held on a football park at the North campus of university of education by the five main masquerade groups. They come together and compete amongs themselves to select the winner for the trophy. These groups consists of Nobles as number one, Egya as number two, Atumu as number three and

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

as number four and Royals as number 5. ''Aboakyer festival'' is a

bushbuck The Cape bushbuck (''Tragelaphus sylvaticus'') is a common and a widespread species of antelope in sub-Saharan Africa.Wronski T, Moodley Y. (2009)Bushbuck, harnessed antelope or both? ''Gnusletter'', 28(1):18-19. Bushbuck are found in a wide ra ...

hunting festival celebrated by the people of Winneba in the Central Region of

. The name ''Aboakyer'' translates as 'hunting for game or animal' in Fante dialect as spoken by the people of the Central region. The institution of the festival was to commemorate the migration of the ''Simpafo'' (the aboriginal name of the people of Winneba). The Aboakyer Festival is being celebrated by the people of Effutu, who were among the earliest settlers of Ghana, for uncountable number of years. It sprang up when the Effutu people departed from Western Sudan and journeyed to the present town of Winneba in the Central Region of Ghana. The came with their god, known as Penkye Otu.

Neighborhoods

Winneba has a number of neighborhoods stretching from the coastal areas to non-coastal areas. It also includes rural areas which provide farm power aside the fishing activity employed by the inhabitants of the

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

s. Below are some of the well-known neighborhoods of Winneba.

Urban areas

* Winneba Junction * Lowcost * Yepemso * Nkwantanan * Kundum * Abasraba * Girls-Ase * Kojo-Beedu * Gyatakrom * Central Campus * North Campus * South Campus * Zongo * Sankor * Water-works

Rural areas

* Essuekyir * Woarabeba * Gyaahadze * Osubonpanyin * Ateitu * Atakyedo * Gyangyanadze * Kookrom

Climate

Sister cities

List of

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

of Winneba, designated by

Sister Cities International Sister Cities International (SCI) is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between communities in the United States and those in other countries, particularly through the establishment of "sister cities"� ...

Personalities

Alex Quaison-Sackey Alex Quaison-Sackey (9 August 1924 – 21 December 1992) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served during the first and third republics. He was the first black African to serve as president of the United Nations General Assembly. Early life and edu ...

, Ghanaian diplomat *

Mike Hammah Mike Allen Hammah (born 28 August 1955) is a politician and a former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources of Ghana. He had been the Minister for Transport until January 4, 2011, when he was moved after a cabinet reshuffle by President Mi ...

, Former member of parliament for Effutu Municipal * Honourable

, current member of parliament for Effutu Municipal *

Kojo Botsio Kojo Botsio (21 February 1916 – 6 February 2001) was a Ghanaian diplomat and politician. He studied in Britain, where he became the treasurer of the West African National Secretariat and an acting warden for the West African Students' Union. He ...

, Ghanaian politician *

Jacob Plange-Rhule Jacob Plange-Rhule, (27 July 1957 – 10 April 2020) was a Ghanaian physician, academic, and Rector of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons from October 2015 until his death in 2020. At the time of his death, Plange-Rhule was a professo ...

, physician and academic

Notable Institutions

* University of Education, Winneba * Winneba Community Nursing Training College * Winneba Senior High School *Winneba School of Business * Winneba Vocational Training Institute * Winneba Trauma and Specialist Hospital * Winneba Fire Station

References

External links

Ghana-pedia webpage - Winneba
{{Authority control Populated places in the Central Region (Ghana)