The Shama District Assembly (SDA) was created by a Legislative Instrument (LI 1882) in December, 2007 as the highest Political and Administrative Authority, pursuant to section 12 of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936), and thus became one of the fourteen (14) administrative Districts in the Western Region, promoting and executing development in its jurisdiction. The District was carved out of the former Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly (SAEMA) with Shama town as its administrative Capital. Officially, it was inaugurated in March 2008.