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Is better to be a kayayei than to be unemployed: reflecting on the role of head portering in ghana’s informal economy

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Abstract

The implementation of neoliberal economic reforms with its resultant effects on rural agricultural economies has facilitated the migration of young girls from northern to southern Ghana to seek for alternative livelihoods in the urban informal economy as head porters (Kayayei). Using semi-structured questionnaires and interviews with 45 Kayayei in Makola and Agbogbloshie Markets, Accra, this study examines how migration as a livelihood strategy contributes to an improvement in the living conditions of young girls and their families. The paper also looks more closely into the pathways through which the livelihoods of these young female migrants may contribute to local economic development. The study highlights that Kayayei contribute to local economic development through market exchange and revenue generation, also there is significant perceived positive impact of head portering on standard of living of these young girls through improved access to income, health care and asset accumulation while their families benefit from remittances. The study concludes by advocating for the need to provide access to credit and skills training in enhancing the livelihood of Kayayei.

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Notes

  1. Standard of living is defined as the ability of an individual to meet the basic necessities of life such as access to health care, education and material well-being (Bérenger and Verdier-Chouchane 2007). Previous measurements on standards of living have mostly focused on consumption aggregates due to the difficulty of measuring household income (Guenard and Mesple-Somps 2010). However, human development is multi-dimensional and goes beyond income and consumption to include health, education and access to resources or material well-being.

  2. The available evidence shows that international migrant’s number about 214 million while the estimate for internal migrants is 740 million (UNDESA 2013).

  3. Truck pushers are young men who carry the loads of customers for a negotiated fee on four-wheeler trolleys instead of carrying it on their heads. Truck pushers are able to carry larger and heavier loads compared to Kayayei (Owusu-Ansah and Addai 2013).

  4. The Market Queen is the shortened form of ‘queen mother’. The queen chairs the product associations and is known in local Akan language as Dwamu Hemaa. The position of a market queen is usually hereditary and is passed on from incumbent queen mother to her daughter (Adimabuno 2010). The queen is often replaced in case of her death or retirement making destoolment very difficult (KIT and IIRR 2008).

  5. Konkomba and Old Fadama refers are the shanty suburbs surrounding the Agbogbloshie market. These places serve as the primary destination for migrants from northern Ghana. It is usually referred to as Sodom and Gomorrah (Nyametso 2012) by government officials in order to legitimize their eviction plans (associating the settlement with perceived crime and licentiousness) (see Farouk and Owusu 2012; Paller 2012).

  6. Susu refers to the informal credit rotation organisation used by people who have limited access to banking services. Money is pulled on either a daily, weekly or monthly basis and the total money is giving to one person at a time with small or no interest (Ardener 1964).

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Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge the President of Kayayei Youth Association (KYA) in Accra who provided diverse assistant during data collection process by helping in recruiting the study participants. We are grateful to the migrant female head porters (Kayayei) who served as study participants. We gratefully acknowledge Professor Alison Brown, Cardiff University, United Kingdom for her insightful comments. We also want to thank the peer reviewers for their constructive feedback.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Planning and Geography, Cardiff University, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3WA, UK

    Yaa Ankomaa Agyei

  2. Centre for Development Studies, Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK

    Emmanuel Kumi

  3. Centre of Development Studies, Churchill College, University of Cambridge, Storeys Way, Cambridgeshire, CB3 0DS, UK

    Thomas Yeboah

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Correspondence to Emmanuel Kumi.

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Agyei, Y.A., Kumi, E. & Yeboah, T. Is better to be a kayayei than to be unemployed: reflecting on the role of head portering in ghana’s informal economy. GeoJournal 81, 293–318 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-015-9620-z

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