Bo District

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bo

District Statistics
Population 2004	705,775
Land Area (sq. KM)	5,165
Number of Chiefdoms	15
Number of Provisional Households	48,609
Number of Primary Schools	385
Primary School Enrolment	128,299
Number of Secondary Schools	40
Secondary School Enrolment	13,313
Number of PHUs	77
Hospital IPD Capacity	400
Electricity	Yes
Telesystem	Yes
Post Office	Yes

1 Overview
2 Demograpics of Bo District
3 Economy
4 Education
5 Government
6 Recovery after Civil War
7 Famous people from Bo District
8 See also
9 External Links

[edit] Overview

Bo District is a district in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. Bo district is the most populous district in Sierra Leone with an estimated population of 705,775 people. Its capital and commercial city is Bo(also known as Bo Town), which is also the second largest city in Sierra Leone after the national capital Freetown. Bo District borders Kenema District to the east, Tonkolili District to the north, Moyamba District to the west, Bonthe District to the southwest and Pujehun District to the south. It occupies a total area of 7,003 km² and comprises of fifteen chiefdoms. The district headquarter is Bo, also known as Bo Town.

[edit] Demograpics of Bo District

Bo District is the most populous district in Sierra Leone with an estimated population of 705,775 people. The district population is ethnically divided, although Mende tribe make up the majority of the population. Since the emergence of the Second Liberian Civil War, Bo District along with Kenema District were home to more than 60,000 Liberian refugees. The district enjoys religious plurality - Muslim and Christians

[edit] Economy

With Bo being the second largest city in Sierra Leone, trading, gold and diamond mining are major economic activities for the district; as well as agricultural production of rice growing, and coffee, cacao and oil palm.

[edit] Education

Bo District is home to 385 Primary Schools and 40 Secondary Schools. Bo Government Secondary School, commonly called Bo School is among the 40 secondary schools in Bo District. The school was founded in 1906 by Leslie Probyn to educate the children of Bo District. The school has a long history of developing the elite of Sierra Leone, especially the country's Politicians.

Bo School is sited on a 13.5 acres of land in the hearth of Bo Town, the second largest city in Sierra Leone. The school itself is situated in pleasant surroundings and within walking distance of Government hospital, Government Post Office, Police Station, and the main shopping center of Bo Town.

Football field, a volleyball court, a basketball court, a long tennis, and cricket pitch enrich the recreational facilities the school provides. There are plans to rehabilitate the school swimming pool.

Bo school also maintains a unique tradition of seniority which has consistently augured well for social cohesion among the students. Maggots/Greeners/Rustics are either junior or newer members of the school(specfically those with more recent admission numbers). They are expected to always observe all rules of defference association with their positions and comply fully with specific instructions from senior students.

[edit] Government

Bo District currently has seven Representatives in the Sierra Leonean Parliament, of which six members were elected for a 5 year term. The following is a list of Representatives and affiliations:

Bindi Hindowa Samba- Paramount Chief of Bo District
Janet Samking (SLPP)
John Ngeun Moriba (SLPP)
Cecil Hanson (SLPP)
Alpha Mathew (SLPP)
Amidu Nallo (SLPP)
Patrick Kamara (SLPP)

[edit] Recovery after Civil War

Bo District suffered badly at the hands of rebel forces during 1994/1995, and many major towns were almost entirely destroyed (Tikonko and Bumpe, for example). However, since the ousting of the Junta in early 1998, Bo district has remained secure, due mainly to the strong presence of the Civil Defence Forces. As such, rather than suffering from displacement, Bo district has been the recipient of displaced persons from less secure parts of the country.

Although aid agencies have had uninterrupted access to the district for five years because of its relative stability, most of the recovery efforts were concentrated in Bo Town leaving out the 8 sections in Kakua chiefdom as well as all the other 14 chiefdoms in the district.

The major recovery needs according to sectoral priorities are as follows: Road rehabilitation, Education, Water and Sanitation, Health, Agriculture, Restoration of Local Government Structures and Shelter.