Port Loko District

Port Loko District

Location of Port Loko District in Sierra Leone
Coordinates: 8°45′N 12°40′W / 8.750°N 12.667°W / 8.750; -12.667Coordinates: 8°45′N 12°40′W / 8.750°N 12.667°W / 8.750; -12.667
Country Sierra Leone
Province Northern Province
Capital Port Loko
Largest city Lunsar
Government
 • Type District Council
 • Council Chairman Ahmed Munir Fofana[1] (APC)
Area
 • Total 5,719 km2 (2,208 sq mi)
Population (2015 census )[2]
 • Total 614,063
 • Rank 4th
 • Density 110/km2 (280/sq mi)
Time zone Greenwich Mean Time (UTC-5)

Port Loko District is a district in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. It is the most populous District in the North and the second most populous District in Sierra Leone, after the Western Area Urban District. As of the 2015 census, Port Loko District has a population of 614,063. The district capital is the town of Port Loko and its largest city is Lunsar. The other major towns in the district include Masiaka, Rokupr, Pepel, Lungi and Gbinti.

The district of Port Loko borders the Western Area to the west, Kambia District to the north, Bombali District to the east and Tonkolili District to the south. The district occupies a total area of 5,719 km2 (2,208 sq mi) and comprises eleven chiefdoms. The population of Port Loko District is predominantly Muslim and the Temne people form by far the largest ethnic group in the district.

Government

Port Loko District is governed with a district council form of government, which is headed by a District Council Chairman, who is the highest local government official in the district. The District Council Chairman is responsible for the general management of the district. The District Council Chairman is elected directly by the residents of Port Loko District. The current District Council Chairman of Port Loko District Council is Ahmed Munir Fofana of the All People's Congress (APC), following his victory in the 2008 Sierra Leone Local Elections.

Administrative divisions

Chiefdoms

The district is made up of eleven chiefdoms as the third level of administrative subdivision.

  1. Bureh Kaseh – Mange
  2. Buya Romende – Foredugu
  3. Debia – Gbinti
  4. Kaffu Bullom – Mahera
  5. Loko Massama – Petifu
  6. Maforki – Port Loko
  7. Marampa – Lunsar
  8. Masimera – Masimera
  9. Koyo – Songo
  10. Sanda Magbolontor – Sendugu
  11. T.M. Safroko – Miraykulay

Major towns

Small towns and villages

Demographics

The Temne make up by far the largest ethnic group in the district. The predominant religion in Port Loko District is Islam which is practised by over 80% of the population.

Economy

The district's main economic activities include scale mining and production of food crops(rice, cassava, and sweet potato).

Sport

Bai Bureh Warriors, one of the oldest soccer clubs in Sierra Leone is based in Port Loko. The club won the Sierra Leonean FA Cup in 1978, and 1979.

Government

Port Loko District currently has six representatives in the Sierra Leonean Parliament, of which five members were elected for a 5-year term. Below is the list of Port Loko District representatives in the Parliament:

Notable people from Port Loko District

Notes

  1. ↑ Councillors want District Chairman impeached « Awoko Newspaper
  2. ↑ http://archive.is/20130209121505/http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=srcg&lng=en&des=wg&geo=352708826&srt=npan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=1500&geo=0

Sources

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, April 24, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.