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.
