4.1 Urban Economy and Role of the Town

The town mainly serves as administrative and trade center. There are six manufacturing industries, 17 wholesale trades, 607 retail trades, 52 service trades, one fuel station and one garage in the town. Two banks and one micro finance organizations are available in the town.

The average annual revenue of the municipality was 3.5 million Birr and the per capital revenue was 111.43 Birr. Major sources of revenues were sales taxes, land and house rents. The major investment opportunities in the town are: hotels, fattening, agro-industries, and manufacturing industries.

Areka town has economic linkages with the surrounding areas, Hawassa and Hosaina. The town gets grain products, livestock supply, natural resources (fuel wood and charcoal,) and labor from surrounding areas; manufacturing and commercial products from Addis Ababa and surrounding areas.

4.2 Social and Municipal Services

Social services

Education

There are five privately owned kindergartens; three government and three private primary schools; one government senior secondary schools (9-10) and one private colleges. 

Health

Regarding health services, in the town, there are one private hospital, one government health centers, four government health posts and four private clinics. The town has also ambulance that gives service for emergency cases.                  

Municipal Services

Areka town has a public meeting hall; general and cattle markets meeting once in a week on Tuesdays and two daily markets. Solid waste is collected with ten donkey drown carts and disposed in authorized five open dump sites. Four Micro and Small Scale Enterprises are engaged in collection and disposal of solid waste. There are nine public toilets in the town, and liquid waste is collected by vacuum trucks rented from other towns.

There are 5-6 ha forest areas in the town, and trees are planted along 5 km of streets. There is one stadium in the town. Regarding religious services there are two churches for Orthodox Christians, two catholic churches, eight churches for Protestants and a mosque.