History, size, and administrative set-up
By proclamation in the Gold Coast Colony Council law of 1894, the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly was founded on October 1, 1903, just like the majority of Ghanaian local administrations. Over time, both the population and the geographic area grew to the point when communities such as Tanokrom and Ketan came under the Council's administrative jurisdiction. In 1976, the statues and name of the council changed from town council to city council. In 1988, the Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan District was created from the former Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Authority Council. Further on, in December 2007, the eastern part of the district was carved out to create Shama District through Legislative Instrument 1933. Thus, the remaining part was renamed Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan District (STMD) on 29 February 2008. However, on 15 March 2018, the western part of the STMD was further split off to become Effia Kwesimintsim Municipal District; thus, the remaining smaller part has been retained as Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan District. The metropolis is located in the southeast part of the Western Region and has Sekondi-Takoradi as its capital town. The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) is one of the 14 MMDAs of the Western Region and covers a land size of 66.44km2.. The Sekondi-Takoradi functions as both the regional and metropolitan administrative capital and located west of Accra, the national capital, which is about three hours’ drive. The STMA is located along the Abidjan – Lagos highway and part of the West African road corridor, making it a major transportation hub and haulage truck terminal with the potential for local economic growth.
The Metropolis is bordered to the west by Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipal and to the east by Shama District. The Atlantic Ocean is south of the Metropolis, and the northern part is Mpohor District District. The Sekondi Takoradi Metropolis is the most urbanized while having the smallest land area in the region.
The General Assembly of the STMA is the highest decision-making body. It is composed of 57 members made up of 36 Assembly Members from the 36 electoral areas, 17 Government appointees, 3 ex-officio Members of Parliament, and the Metropolitan Chief Executive.
There are two main committees of the Assembly; the Executive Committee (now Metropolitan Authority) and the Public Relations and Complaints Committee (PRCC). The Metropolitan Assembly comprises three Sub- Metropolitan District Councils namely; the Sekondi, Takoradi and Esikado/Ketan Sub-Metropolitan Dis- trict Councils. There are also thirty-six (36) Electoral Areas and 36 Unit Committees. These Sub- District administrative structures are symbols of community participation.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive is the administrative and political head of the Metropolitan Assembly whilst the Metropolitan Coordinating Director serves as the Secretary to the General Assembly and the chief Administrator of the Decentralized Departments. The administration is supported by the Metropolitan Planning Coordinating Unit/Secretariat and the Internal Audit Unit.