ABSTRACT
Migration is an enduring theme of human history and is considered one of the defining global issues of the twenty-first century. In Ghana, as in other parts of Africa, migration is largely informal and undocumented, making accurate data on the phenomenon extremely scanty. Migrants have been involved in a lot of activities that they are not permitted to do in the host country as defined within the borders of international protocols and agreements. Despite all this, there is little known about migrants‟ activities in Ghana. This study was to explore the activities of Nigerian Migrants and their impacts on the Ghanaian economy. The study area was Koforidua. Specifically, the study sought to: find out the socio-economic and demographic backgrounds of Nigerian migrants in the New Juabeng Municipality; find out the types of economic activities Nigerian migrants engage in in the New Juabeng Municipality; and to explore the impacts of the economic activities of the migrants in the study area. The study was both an exploratory and explanatory one that used the mixed method approach in answering the research question. Respondents were selected using a mixture of designs ranging from purposive, through to snowballing through the networks of Nigerian immigrants in Koforidua. It was discovered that Nigerian immigrants engage mainly in the informal sector economic activities that Ghanaians dominate, creating competitions that leads to throwing out some the Ghanaian traders out of business. However, the study also discovered some positive impacts of the Nigerian immigrants on the Ghanaian economy in Koforiduda. This includes employment of Ghanaians, payment of tax (though few) and patronage of food substances that are sold by Ghanaian vendors. The study recommends that strict measures must be put in place to enforce the rules and regulations in the country to country both the entry and the economic activities of immigrants in Ghana. It reminds the government to strengthen and enforce an efficient tax collecting system to ensure immigrants pay taxes for national development.
CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
- Introduction
Migration is an enduring theme of human history and is considered one of the defining global issues of the twenty-first century. In Ghana, as in other parts of Africa, migration is largely informal and undocumented, making accurate data on the phenomenon extremely scanty. Despite this lack of data, the literature points to a long history of population mobility with migration playing a central role in the livelihood and advancement strategies of both rural and urban populations Awumbila et al. (2013).
The main aim of national government in developing countries is to reduce poverty among the citizens (Marfaing & Thiel, 2011; Mcnamee, 2012). This requires that national government and their agencies provide employment to the citizens or provide realistic opportunities for the people to employ them. Faced with the problem of unemployment among the citizenry, people themselves try their best to look for employment opportunities in other more privileged and endowed towns and countries in the world. The main reason for this is to make their standard of living better so they could realize their human dignity (Awumbila et al., 2008).
Economic activities benefit households and the macro-economy as a whole. Where as individuals and house holds get food and income for the gratification of their immediate needs, the national economy also benefits from the taxes and surplus food ( Liu, 2010). Economic activities of the citizens in the country can either be in the formal or informal sector (Obeng, 2013). Studies in Ghana has shown that the type of economic activity of the people depends largely on the educational levels of the people (Obeng, 2013; Sun & Heshmati, 2010). Again those engaged in the informal sector activities form the majority in Ghana. These activities are also hampered by competition from their counterparts since entry
is easier (Ho, 2012). There is the need for studies on the activities of immigrants, particularly immigrants operating the informal economy in the New Juaben Municipality, where there is now massive influx in order to have a knowledge of the effects on the economy.
Problem Statement
Recent studies in Ghana reveal that international migrants in Ghana are also taking over the informal activities of indigenes (IOM, 2014), even though they help the country through taxes. Lower relative prices of their products traded in by emigrants also help Ghanaians improve their standard of living. That not withstanding their competitions with the Ghanaians led to unemployment, reducing their standards of living (Sylvanus, 2009). Related studies are not corned out mainly in the study area, providing gabs in the migration literature.
In West African countries, the most important countries of destination for migrants include Ghana and Nigeria (DRC, 2007). Estimates of the Ghanaian migrant population show a high number (Twum Baah, 2005; Black et al., 2003). However, there is a strong evidence that Ghana also receives immigrants from neighbouring countries in Africa, especially Nigeria (Twum Baah, 2005).
The majority of immigrants to Ghana come from Africa. In 2000, 58.9 per cent of non- Ghanaian residents were nationals from Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries, while 23 per cent of immigrants came from African countries outside ECOWAS. According to border statistics from the Ghana Immigration Services, Europeans constituted the largest group of non-African arrivals (15.3%), followed by North Americans (9.7%), from 2000 to 2007 (GIS, 2008).
Students make up a significant proportion of the immigrants to Ghana. In 2007, 8.5 per cent of resident permits were granted to students. Students represented a particularly large proportion among permit holders from ECOWAS countries, almost 25 per cent. The foreign student population at the University of Ghana rose steadily from 1.5 per cent in 2001-02 to
3.8 per cent in 2006-07.
While the overall immigrant population has remained relatively stable over the last two decades, the number of asylum seekers and refugees has dramatically increased, from 11,721 in 2001 to 34,950 in 2007. In 2007, Ghana hosted the largest refugee population in the West African sub-Region. Representing 77.3 per cent of the total refugee population in Ghana, Liberians accounted for much of the increase in the number of refugees in Ghana. According to UNHCR (2008), 40 per cent of the refugees from Liberia and Togo were minors (persons under 18 years old). In 2008, Ghana received fewer asylum seeker and refugees (18,206), but the country remains host to the fourth-largest population of asylum seekers and refugees in the region.
As more young people enter Ghana‟s labour market than ever before, the pressure to migrate may increase unless employment opportunities for young labour market entrants improve. Ghana‟s labour force is expected to grow faster than its population over the next decade. While Ghana‟s annual population growth rate – one of the lowest in the sub-region – is projected to remain at 2.2 per cent, its labour force is estimated to increase yearly by 2.9 per cent for the next 15 years (GSS, 2005b). Although the economy has grown steadily over the past few years, from 5.2 per cent in 2003 to 6.3 per cent in 2007, labour-intensive sectors such as manufacturing have been growing more slowly and are therefore unable to absorb the expanding labour force. According to 2000 census data, unemployment especially affects the young and those with no schooling (49%).
The domestic labour force in Ghana is not only growing but also becoming more educated. The net enrolment ratio in primary school has increased steadily from 86.4 per cent in 2003/04 to 90.8 per cent in 2006/07, indicating that more young people (below 14 years old) remain in school rather than seek employment. At the other end of the educational spectrum, more and more workers are enrolled in graduate and postgraduate programmes, especially at private universities. The Gross Enrolment Ratio in tertiary education increased from 3 per cent in 2004 to 5 per cent in 2005 (UNESCO, 2007). In light of these trends, skilled emigration is likely to remain an important policy concern, unless work conditions and employment opportunities for the highly skilled improve.
Lack of career development and poor working conditions seem to be important motivations for the highly skilled to migrate, especially for those in the medical professions. A study on the migration intentions of health workers, for example, showed that the opportunity for further training figure quite prominently in their reasons to migrate (Agyei and Quartey, 2008). Although reliable data on its actual impact is still lacking, highly skilled emigration is likely to have exacerbated already existing labour shortages in critical sectors such as health and education. Over 60 per cent of faculty positions at polytechnics and 40 per cent of those in public universities are vacant. In 2000, it was estimated that only 49 per cent of the needed workforce in the health sector was available and this situation is unlikely to have changed greatly over the years (Nyonator et al., 2004). Hospitals and other institutions of higher learning are struggling hard to retain staff, partly due to emigration.
In order to facilitate updates to the Migration Profile, the timeliness, processing, and analysis of migration data need to be improved. Most migration data are census data that is usually collected every ten years and therefore often outdated. While GIS collects a wealth of administrative data on entries, departures, and registration, the lack of data disaggregated by
sex, age, and other relevant characteristics makes meaningful analysis difficult. The government also has no accurate data on immigrants in Ghana and irregular migration. Household survey data is a valuable source of migration information but often remains underutilized. For example, in West Africa, Ghana‟s 2005 Living Standard Measurement Survey is considered as one of the best examples of a general household survey that features migration and remittance questions (IOM, 2008a).
There have been concerns that foreign traders are taking over the informal economy and dominating the sector, even though, law, both national and international does not permit them to engage in these activities that are reserved for Ghanaian traders (Obeng, 2013). This has forced some Ghanaian traders out of business, rendering them unemployed, and has created a lot of tensions between Nigerian immigrants and the Ghanaian traders. Despite this, there have been only few studies carried out and publishes to inform policy makers and the government on how to address this important issue. This study explores the activities of Nigerian traders in Koforidua in the New Juaben Municipality to bridge the literature gab.
