Anda-Ahenkro, the capital of the Banda District in the Bono Region, is witnessing a gradual transformation, with public infrastructure projects reshaping its landscape and the extension of essential services to communities across the district.
New public buildings, improved health and educational facilities, staff accommodation and recreational infrastructure are giving the town a new outlook, while an ambitious development vision seeks to position the district as a major tourism destination.
Once considered one of the deprived areas in the erstwhile Brong Ahafo Region, Banda District is today emerging as one of the fast-developing districts in the region.
The district has witnessed significant investment in education, healthcare, roads, sports, security and other sectors.
The changing face of Banda-Ahenkro is also strengthening its appeal as an area for major public programmes.
The town hosted the 2026 commemoration of the June 4 Uprising in the region, demonstrating its capacity to accommodate significant public events.
Transformation
At the heart of the transformation are facilities intended to improve public services, create opportunities for young people and support economic activity.
The Banda District Assembly block
Among them are an ultra-modern social and recreational centre, an artificial football pitch, a district health insurance office and a district assembly facility.
Investments in classrooms, teachers’ quarters, nurses’ accommodation, security infrastructure, water and sanitation are also extending to communities beyond the district capital.
A new face for the district
The ultra-modern social and recreational centre is one of the prominent developments in Banda-Ahenkro.
Designed to provide space for social activities and other programmes, the facility forms part of efforts to improve the town’s public infrastructure and provide venues for community gatherings and events.
The Banda District Assembly’s 2025/2026 project register puts the centre at 92 per cent completion and the Astro pitch at 82 per cent.
The three-storey district assembly facility, which includes offices and conference halls, is another major addition to the town’s administrative infrastructure.
In all, the Assembly’s 2025/2026 project register lists 75 projects and interventions covering education, healthcare, security, administration, sports and recreation, among other areas.
At Bandaman Senior High School alone, 19 projects are being undertaken, including a science laboratory block, teachers’ quarters, a headmaster’s bungalow, boys’ and girls’ dormitories, a dining hall complex, an administration complex and an 18-unit classroom block.
The projects are at different stages of completion, reflecting efforts to improve educational facilities, expand essential services and strengthen public infrastructure.
Opportunities for youth
For the Member of Parliament (MP) for Banda, Ahmed Ibrahim, the infrastructure programme is also about developing the potential of young people.
He said the district had produced footballers, coaches and boxing trainers who had contributed to sports development, but more young people could excel with access to appropriate training facilities.
Mr Ibrahim, who is also the Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources, said the Astro turf at Banda-Ahenkro was nearing completion, adding that other sporting facilities were ongoing at Banda Bui and Dobo, including a tennis court.
He explained that the facilities were intended to help young people train, discover their talents and pursue careers in sports.
The MP said the development agenda also included plans for a computer laboratory as part of the broader social and recreational centre project to encourage young people to acquire digital skills and prepare for emerging professional fields.
Projects
According to the District chief Executive, Peter Dongi, classroom blocks and teachers’ quarters were being provided in communities including Boase, Biema, Dorbor, Fawoman and Sanwa.
He said while some of the projects had been completed, others remained under construction.
On healthcare, Mr Dongi said six three-bedroom nurses’ quarters at Banda-Ahenkro had been completed, alongside other accommodation and community health projects across the district.
He said work had also been completed on a police post and staff accommodation at Boase and Dorbor, while a police station at Sabiye remained under construction.
Mr Dongi said other projects being undertaken include boreholes, public places of convenience, drainage works and road reshaping, reflecting the range of basic infrastructure needs being addressed across the district.
Tourism destination
He said by the next five years, Banda will be the most attractive destination for tourists in Ghana,” he said.
As part of that vision, he said a hotel was envisaged within the wider development concept around the social and recreational centre.
He explained that the intention was to make Banda attractive to visits, conferences and other events outside the national capital.
Mr Ibrahim said the development programme reflected a long-term vision he had pursued during his 18 years as an MP.
Funding of projects
The Bono Regional Minister, Joseph Addae Akwaboa, who accompanied Mr Ibrahim and the District Chief Executive (DCE), Peter Dongi, on a tour of development projects as part of a two-day accountability to the people programme in the district, praised the scale of infrastructure development in the area.
He said the number of projects was so considerable that the team could not inspect all of them within the two days allocated for the programme.
Mr Akwaboa attributed the pace of construction to the availability of funds before contractors were engaged.
He said contractors should not be asked to begin work without the necessary funding arrangements.
“We will not leave any project without completing it,” he said, adding that the government intended to ensure that ongoing projects were completed.
Sustaining the transformation
Mr Akwaboa urged residents to protect the infrastructure, stressing that the government’s investment alone would not guarantee the facilities’ long-term usefulness.
“The government will do everything to bring facilities to this district, but the people who are going to use it should be able to maintain it,” he said.
Residents
Some residents who spoke to the Daily Graphic commended the government, Mr Ibrahim and the Assembly for investing in infrastructure to accelerate the development of the district.
A resident, Alhassan Yakubu, said the growing number of public facilities was changing the face of Banda-Ahenkro and creating opportunities to improve access to essential services, promote sporting talents among the youth and attract visitors.
He expressed the hope that the projects would be completed on schedule and properly maintained to ensure lasting benefits for communities across the district.
He also called for measures to ensure that local people benefited from the anticipated growth in tourism and other economic activities, particularly through employment and business opportunities.
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