THE NORTH-SOUTH MOVEMENT OF YOUNG FEMALES IN GHANA AND ITS

EFFECTS ON THEIR WELFARE: A CASE STUDY OF FEMALE HEAD

PORTERS IN THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT OF KUMASI

By Afriyie, Kwadwo

Kwarteng, Sandra Amoah Boateng, Micheal

The Annual Conference of the Ghana Geographical Association, 1st -4th August, 2012, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana.

Introduction• Migration is a global phenomenon with between 50

and 100 million people living outside their country of origin against the world’s population of 6.314 billion (Kelo and Wachter, 2004).

• West Africa is one of the few regions where relatively large-scale free movement of people take place (Zachariah and Conde, 1981) and internal migration accounts for most of the migratory movements (Ackah and Medvedev, 2010).

• In Ghana, migration is an important component of people’s livelihood strategies. Annually, Ghana’s net migration rate (in-migrants minus out-migrants) is 55 persons per 100,000 inhabitants (World Fact Book, 2007).

• Internal migration is dominant in Ghana. About 1.2 million people changed their place of residence within Ghana between 1995-2000 (GSS, 2000).

• The movement is basically from North to South of Ghana due to regional disparities in terms of development.

• The movement has been done mostly by male adults to take advantage of the opportunities in the mining and cocoa-growing areas in the South.

• Recently, movements are all-year round and involves the youth, particularly, females from the North to southern cities, notably Accra, Kumasi and Secondi-Takoradi to engage in various economic activities including kayayie (Kwankye et al 2007)

• This migration stream led to an increase in the number of children working on the street to 800,000 in 2000 (Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare , 2000)

• Girls as young as 8 years old work as head porters and end up living and working under very poor conditions which makes them vulnerable to physical and reproductive health risks, especially STDs.

• Therefore, the study assesses the working conditions and characteristics of young female migrants working as head porters (kayayei) in the central business district (CBD) of Kumasi.

• This assessment is achieved by; - exploring the factors which influence the porters’

decision to migrate to the CBD - investigating whether the migrants are better off

upon arrival, considering living conditions at the source and destination regions

- examining the challenges the porters face at the destination region

Methodology• The mixed method of quantitative and qualitative

data collection and analysis was employed for the study.

• A total of ninety (90) female head porters were accidentally selected and interviewed at Adum, Kejetia and Central Market in Kumasi.

• The study employed accidental sampling because the head porters are mostly found walking around looking for load to carry.

• Structured interview was the main data collection instrument because the study intended to capture the sentiments of the porters.

Main FindingsBio Data of Respondents

Two essential bio data relevant to the study are age and educational level of female porters.

• Age of Respondents - Most of the female porters (93%) interviewed were below 27 years of age, confirming findings of similar studies (Anarfi, 2007; Unicef, 2000; CAS 2000). See table 1.1 -Young female porters are physically and emotionally more vulnerable to problems at the destination region.

Table 1.1: Age of Respondents

Age of respondents

Frequencies Percentage of

respondents

Cumulative Percent

Below 16 22 24 2416 – 27 62 69 9328 – 60 6 7 100Total 90 100 100

• Educational levels of Respondents -Educational levels of female porters were generally

low, with about 60% of the respondent without formal education.

- The reasons for this low level of education among the porters include high male literacy as against female literacy in Northern Ghana and low income status of their parents or guardians (Berg, 2007; GHDS 2003)

- Low levels of education makes it difficult for female migrants to secure good jobs and earn respectable income.

Factors Affecting Porters’ Decision to Migrate

• The study revealed that 85% of the female porters migrated because of economic reasons; similar to findings of preponderant literature on North-South migration in Ghana (Adu-Gyamfi, 2001; Anarfi et al. 2003; Anarfi and Kwankye, 2005)

• Fifteen percent of the porters’ indicated social factors; forced marriages (6%), peer influence (4%) and the desire to command respect from society on their return (5%).

• Clearly, porters expect “greener pastures” on their arrival in the CBD. The question is “do female porters conditions improve on arrival at the CBD?”

Migrants Welfare upon Arrival• Migrants welfare is measured by comparing the

following variables at the source and destination- Income- Room Occupancy Ratio- Type and Quality of shelter

• The comparisons are made using tables and charts

Table 1.2: Income of Female Porters Before and After Migration

Income per Month

(GH¢)

Source Region Destination Region Count Percent Count Percent

None 80 89.0 - -Below 20 3 3.3 53 58.9

20-50 4 4.4 15 16.751-100 3 3.3 8 8.9

Above 100 - - 14 15.5Total 90 100 90 100

Figure 1.1: Room Occupancy Ratio Before and After Migration

Female Porters Shelter Before and

After Migration• Prior to migration, all 90

porters claimed they lived in family houses either built with cement or mud and roofed with sheets, asbestos or thatch.

• After migrating to the CBD, female porters’ live in all kinds of improvised shelter. These include uncompleted buildings, kiosk and stores, rented houses, and containers (fig. 1.2)

Challenges Faced by Female Porters• Three basic challenges confront female porters in the

CBD. These are:- Accommodation Challenges- Work-related Challenges- Health-related challenges

• These challenges are however interrelated such that poor working conditions as well as poor housing would lead poor health and vice versa.

• Accommodation Challenges - About 74% of the female porters surveyed live

in kiosk, stores, containers or uncompleted building while only 26% of the porters live in rented houses.

- Such shelter lacks basic amenities such as water, washrooms, toilet facilities and electricity.

- Little or no access to such basic amenities exposes the porters to various health risks.

• Health-related Challenges - Number of occupants in poorly ventilated

kiosk range from 10-25, exposing porters to communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, and hygiene-related such as cholera, malaria and even skin rashes.

- Health access is poor, with about 44% of porters not accessing any health facility at all and 68% accessing irregular health service with their limited income.

- None of the porters was a registered member of the NHIS.

• Work-related Challenge - About 14% of the porters claim that they have

been emotionally abused by customers while 9% claim that they have experienced

harassment, especially from male customers. - The carrying of heavy load on the head is

health-threatening, especially considering the fact that women are described as “weaker vessels”.

- The porters are not under any labor organization hence nobody to defend or speak on

their behalf concerning how much they should be paid.

Conclusion• Young females migrating from the North to

the CBD are economically better off than before (in terms of income).

• However, such relative improvement in income does not translate into improving the welfare of such young female migrants.

• Consequently, porters are worse-off and more vulnerable upon arrival at the CBD. This is manifested in the accommodation, work and health related challenges.

Recommendations• In the short run, an introduction of livelihood

programs for female migrants at the destination regions will improve their living conditions.

• Developmental projects and promoting female education in the northern parts of Ghana will in the long run abate the increasing North-South movement of female porters.

• Porters participation in the programs to be organized for them and adequate financial support be provided.

End of presentation

Thank you