Bo District

Bo District
Coordinates: 8°00′N 11°40′W / 8.000°N 11.667°W / 8.000; -11.667Coordinates: 8°00′N 11°40′W / 8.000°N 11.667°W / 8.000; -11.667
Country Sierra Leone
Province Southern Province
Capital Bo
Largest city Bo
Government
 • Type District Council
 • Council Chairman Joseph Munda Bindi (SLPP)
Area
 • Total 5,473.6 km2 (2,113.4 sq mi)
Population (2010)[1]
 • Total 561,524
 • Rank 2nd
Time zone Greenwich Mean Time (UTC-5)

Bo District is a district in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. It is the second most populous District in Sierra Leone (after the Western Area Urban District). Its capital and largest city is the city of Bo, which is the second largest city in Sierra Leone. other major towns in the district include Baoma, Bumpeh, Serabu, Sumbuya, Baiima and Yele. The district population as of 2010 is 561,524.[1] Bo District is subdivided into fifteen chiefdoms.

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 5,473.6 km² and comprises fifteen chiefdoms.

Major towns

Government

Bo District has its own directly elected local government called District Council and is where executive and lesgislative authority is vested at local level within Bo District. The Bo District Council is Headed by a council chairman, who is an elected official and is responsible for the general management of the district. The current council Chairman of Bo District is Mathew Mannah Margo of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP), following his election victory in the 2008 Sierra Leone local election.

The city of Bo also have its own directly elected city council headed by a mayor. The current mayor of Bo is Wusu Sannoh, he is a member of the opposition Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). Bo District is a stronghold of the opposition Sierra Leone People's Party.

Members of Parliament of Sierra Leone from Bo District

Bo District currently has twelve Representatives in the Parliament of Sierra Leone, of which eleven members were elected for a 5-year term in the 2007 general elections. The district is a stronghold of the opposition Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). The following is a list of Representatives and affiliations:

NameParty
Eric B. JumuSLPP
Elizabeth Alpha-Lavalie SLPP
Nenneh Lebbie SLPP
Joseph Mustapha SLPP
Jusufu Mansaray SLPP
Frank Kposowa SLPP
Francis RogersPMDC
Paul Kamara PMDC
Youkie FodaySLPP
Legacy Sankoh PMDC
P.C. Hindowa Bindi SambaNon

Demographics of Bo District

Ethnicity

The population of Bo District is ethnically and culturally diverse, particularly in the city of Bo, Sierra Leone's second largest city. The Mende people form the largest ethnic group in Bo District at over 60 percent of the population.

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.

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.

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.

Towns and villages in Bo District

Notable people from Bo District

See also

References

  1. 1 2 World Gazetteer: Bo - profile of geographical entity including name variants

External links

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