Cacheu Region
Cacheu is a region in western Guinea-Bissau, on the border with Senegal. It has an area of 5,175 km2 and a population estimated in 2004 at 164,676. Its capital is Cacheu. There has not been any local administration since the civil war of 1998-99 and all the social services are done by organs of civil society and other government agencies. It is a coastal region covered with Mangrove swamps, rain forest and tangled forest and receives an annual rainfall of more than As of 2009, the total population of the region was 185,053, with the urban population being 40,051 and rural being 145,002. The sex ratio of the region is 91 females for every hundred males. As of 2009, the net activity rate was 54.24 per cent, proportion of employed labour force was 36.20 per cent, proportion of labour force was 78.17 and the proportion of potentially active population was 36.20 per cent. The absolute poverty rate, people earning less than $2 a day, in the region stood at 63.8 per cent, with a regional contribution of 14.2 per cent to the national poverty totals. Geography Cacheu is a low-lying coastal region and the low-lying coastal areas are periodically submerged during high tide. All the coastal regions have a maximum elevation of . The internal region has plains, which are interspersed with rias. There are lot of meandering rivers, many of them forming estuaries in the coastal regions. The principal river, Cacheu, flows through the region. The climate is hot and tropical and the region has two seasons. The onset of summer is from December to May with April - May period having temperature ranges from to . The rainy season is usually from May to November. The region receives an average rainfall of around compared to the inland regions, which receive . The coastal regions are covered with Mangrove swamps, rain forest and tangled forest. Administration Cacheu is divided into six administrative sectors are Bigene, Bula, Cacheu, Caió, Canghungo and São Domingos. Guinea-Bissau got independence from Portugal on 24 September 1973 after wars and diplomatic political actions under the Partido Africano da Independência de Cabo Verde (PAICV), while Portugal accepted the independence of Cape Verde on 5 July 1975. PAICV ruled both the countries after independence. While international funds came pouring in for the economic development of the nation, the party was accused of misusing power in authoritarian manner. The one-party state mechanism was turbulent during the period of 1980s and 1990s with army taking control of power more frequently and the resultant civil war resulted in loss of property and lives. To decentralize power, an administrative region and eight regions were created. There has not been any local administration since the civil war of 1998-99 and all the social services are done by organs of civil society and other government agencies. There is minimal health and education services offered by the government and all the government departments have operated in a limited fashion. A transitional government was selected