Ho, Ghana

Ho is the capital of the Ho Municipal Assembly and in the Volta Region of Ghana. The city lies between Mount Adaklu and Mount Galenukui or Togo Atakora Range, and is home to the Volta Regional Museum, a cathedral, and a prison. The population of Ho Municipality according to the 2021 Population and Housing Census is 180,420 representing 10.9 percent of the region's total population. Females constitute 53 percent and males represent 47 percent. About 69.8 percent of the population resides in urban localities. The Municipality shares boundaries with Adaklu and Agotime-Ziope Districts to the South, Ho West District to the North and West and the Republic of Togo to the East (see Figure 1.1). Its total land area is 2,361 square kilometers (912 sq mi) thus representing 11.5 percent of the region's total land area.

History

Ho was a part of the German colony of Togoland until World War I, when it was occupied by the British. Ho later became the capital of the League of Nations mandate of British Togoland until that entity's incorporation into the British Gold Coast colony, which subsequently became Ghana. The town was initially inhabited by the people of Hegbe (now Heve), followed by the people of Banakoe (now corrupted to Bankoe). These two groups lived alongside each other with individual chiefdoms. The first known chief of the Bankoe people was Afede Asor I, known in his private life as Akorli. The chief of Heve was Anikpi I, who was known in his private life as Amexo Doh (Adzah Doh). The Ahoe and Dome joined the settlement at a later stage but came to play leading roles in its development. The people of Dome (of Akan origin) became the ruling class until the emergence of modern-day chieftaincy, which they ceded to the Bankoe people. The people of Hliha are a subgroup of Bankoe.

Culture

The traditional festival in Ho is the Asogli Yam Festival, which is celebrated around September of every year.

Climate

Ho, along with the municipality, has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw), with a wet season and a dry season and the temperature relatively being hot year-round. The yearly mean temperature usually ranges from while the mean monthly temperature is between . The maximum average yearly rainfall was whilst the minimum was . The rainy season usually begins from March to June while the dry season is from

July to November. The relative humidity can reach 80% on average.

|source 2 = Deutscher Wetterdienst (extremes, humidity 1973-1994, sun 1958-1962)

Sports

The Ho Sports Stadium is located in the town.

Transportation

In central parts of Ho, the roads are paved, the roads outside are not.

List of settlements

{| class="wikitable"

!NO

!SETTLEMENT

!POPULATION

!POPULATION YEAR

|HO

|200,000

|2000

|HO

|177,281

|2010

|HO

|180,420

|2021

Human resources

Health

The town's primary health clinic is the Ho Poly Clinic. Also, it has the Ho Municipal Hospital which serves as secondary health facility while the Ho Teaching Hospital which was established in 1999 and upgraded to its current status is affiliated to the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) and provides service not only patients from the municipality but also ones from Benin, Nigeria, and Togo.

Education

There are many private and public basic schools in Ho. A list of tertiary institutions in Ho follows:

Tertiary institutions

University of Health and Allied Sciences
Ho Technical University, formally Ho Polytechnic
Ghana Technology University College,
Princefield University College
Evangelical Presbyterian University College
Ho Nurses Training Schools (Community Health & RGN)
Ho School of Hygiene
DataLink Institute, Ho
GCom Institute of Science and Technology

Secondary education

Mawuli School
EPC Mawuko Girls Senior High School
OLA Girls' Senior High School
Sacred Heart Senior High School
Sonrise Christian High School
St. Prosper's college
Wallahs Academy
Holy Spirit College of Education