Ever wonder why Tamale has suddenly become the next business destination of many multinational companies which for many years have limited their activities to only the Southern part of Ghana? How about the fact that this northern city has now become the headquarters of NGOs in Ghana, an accolade it has earned for itself in recent years because of the presence and operations of about 150 NGOs? According to an official of this cosmopolitan city, apart from the increase in human population, Tamale over the last five years has also experienced a very significant growth in physical infrastructural development and increased business and other human activities in all spheres of the local economy, making it the fastest growing city in the West Africa Sub-Region. Correspondent Joseph Ziem reports….
Tamale is a busy expanding commercial regional capital located 600 km north of the nation’s capital, Accra. With a population of over 300,000 (2000 PHC) residents dominated by native Dagombas, Tamale in recent years has become the fastest growing city in the West Africa Sub-region. Its local economy is predominantly agriculture, but the sprawling city is also a hub for manufactured goods and an economic, administrative, educational and medical center.
Increase in human population, commercial activities, influx of foreign merchants, expansion of infrastructure, increase in number of vehicles, emergence of new human settlements and among others, cannot be underestimated in the last few years. That notwithstanding, quite a number of meticulous research work by state and private institutions and objective assessments by city officials quite support this claim.
While most people often limit their understanding of Tamale’s fast growth rate to just only the growing human population, Head of Public Affairs of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, Issah Salifu Musah, says it goes beyond just increase in human beings.
He cited for instance, that the mad rush by different companies and organizations to establish branch offices in the city in order to cash-in the volumes of money that exchange hands through the day-to-day trading activities, is one yardstick to measure the economic growth rate of Tamale apart from the human population.
According to him, the hospitality industry, financial institutions, telecommunication industry, transportation sector, educational sector, Non-Governmental Organisations and among others, have grown rapidly over the last five years.
Savannahnews can count more than twenty financial institutions including Banks and Savings and Loan Companies operating in this city with most of their customers, aside the salaried workers being petty traders and those in the informal sector of the economy. Notable among the most recently established ones are InterContinental Bank, Fidelity Bank, HFC Bank, Amal Bank, Prudential Bank, 1st National Bank, ARP Apex Bank, GT Bank, Zenith Bank, Eco Bank, Barclays Bank, Stanchart, Dalex Financial Services, NIB, SGSSB, Stanbic Bank, etc. Quite a number of insurance companies are also selling insurance policies ranging from accident, life, education, health, disaster and so on.
Moreover, all of Ghana’s five telecommunication companies namely; MTN, Vodafone, Tigo, Airtel and Expresso are operating in a much wider coverage area now and almost every average person now has a mobile phone or two. This has triggered an increase in the number of mobile phone shops and opening of two of the best ICT training institutions in Ghana, NIIT and IPMC College of Technology.
With Tamale’s current population expected to hit over 500,000, movement of people becomes crucial and the last few years has seen a lot of newly established transport companies launch new and luxurious buses commuting daily between Tamale-Accra, Tamale-Kumasi, Tamale-Sunyani, Tamale-Bolgatanga, Tamale-Wa as well as the rest of the other district capitals in the Northern Region. The leading transport organization which is the Metro Mass Transit Limited has fleets of buses linking Tamale and other districts and regional capitals.
Other transport companies are O.A Transport Services, Inter-city STC, GPRTU, Imperial Express Transport and VIP Transport Limited. Public transportation in the form of taxis is the most convenient means of getting around Tamale as a visitor to the city. The popular means of travel for the locals, however, is by bicycle and motorbike. Also, private flights like CityLink and Antrak Air operate regularly between Tamale-Accra, with plans for many to join later due to the prolific nature of the aviation industry. Now vehicular traffic in the middle of the city in the morning and late afternoon is almost the same as the nation’s big cities such as Accra and Kumasi.
Besides, there are also more than one hundred local and international NGOs located in Tamale, and notable amongst them are the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), CARE International, ActionAid Ghana, IBIS, SNV, SEND-Ghana, NORGAID, World Vision, and so on. This has earned Tamale the accolade ‘Headquarters of NGOs in Ghana’.
Furthermore, Tamale is considered the main centre of education in Northern Ghana. Currently there are over 742 public and private basic schools within the city. They include Kindergartens, Primary, Junior High and Senior High Schools. The rest are Technical/Vocational Institutions, 2 Colleges of Education, a Polytechnic, a Nursing and Midwifery Training College, one Community Health Training School, School of Hygiene and two Universities – University for Development Studies (UDS) public institution and Islamic Technical University College, private institution.
For instance, in an area called the Education Ridge covering an area of about 3 km sq, over 20 schools ranging from Kindergartens through Junior High and Senior High Schools, Teacher Training Colleges, the Tamale Polytechnic and Ghana Institute of Languages (GIL) are located there. The numerous trees especially mahogany trees lining up on both sides of the street in this part of the city portrays a tropical rainforest outlook.
All the aforementioned institutions and companies providing range of services to thousands of people on a daily basis, according to Issah Salifu, is enough evidence to conclude that the city is growing at a very fast pace adding that few years ago, many people had to travel to the Southern part of the country to buy certain basic needs and source for other services. But now, a lot of such basic items are available in the local market here through the southern traders and those from Mali, Niger and Nigeria.
The Head of Public Affairs of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly also observed that government functionaries, businessmen and women including tourists can now travel to Tamale to attend crush events, emergency meetings and also transact other businesses. “If you’re seriously sick now and needs good medical attention, you don’t need to travel several miles to Kumasi or Accra to get the best medical services. The Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) which is now more equipped than before is providing essential services to people, adding “even under emergency circumstances which will require one to travel down south to seek health service, commercial flights are there to catch any day”.
Amongst Tamale’s recent state-of-the-art infrastructure include the newly constructed Sports Stadium, replacing the old principal football field – Kaladan Park – with a world-class venue, 3-star GETFund Hotel and modern medical facility at the TTH.
The sector that has also received a major boost like the financial sector is the hospitality industry. There are now more modern hotels and guest houses most of which were developed in the period leading up to the 2008 African Cup of Nations tournament of which Tamale was a host city. In Tamale, one can be treated to both local and foreign cuisines in many of its 2star hotels like Gariba Lodge, Mariam Hotel, Modern City Hotel and Relax Lodge, which make up the 94 hotels and guest houses that are currently operating in the area including 34 restaurants. The city also happens to be the leading producer of cereals, yams and meat in the country and so these foodstuffs sell cheaply in the local markets.
Administratively, Tamale has a Mayor who is vested with extensive Executive powers. The Mayor is appointed by the President of the Republic of Ghana and approved or otherwise by members of the General Assembly, although there has been an increase in public outcry to increase accountability of the office by having the Mayor elected through the ballot box. The current Mayor of Tamale is Alhaji Abdulai Haruna Friday appointed by H.E. President John Evans Atta Mills in 2009.
The city’s architecture is a mixture of traditional and modern styles. While the majority of the houses are roofed with corrugated iron sheets, a good number of them are roofed with grass. English is the official language, but in daily life majority of the people (natives) speak mostly Dagbani and Hausa. Majority of the residents are followers of Islam, as reflected by the multitude of mosques in the city, most notably the Central, Anbarriya and Ahmadiyya Mosques.
With almost a flat topography, one can have a perfect view of the city on any three or four-storey building. In the heart of the city are the Traditional Palaces of the Gulkpe Naa and the Naa Dakpemah where one can catch a glimpse of pure traditional architecture. Not too far from there is the Centre for National Culture – home of traditional artifacts and designed clothes – attracting at least about a hundred of local and foreign tourists a week. All the principal streets in Tamale are tarred with the central dual carriage road heavily lit up during the night. Tamale is the only city in Ghana with bicycle lanes and pedestrian walkways; and indeed, the fastest growing city in West Africa.
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