Professor Charles Ofosu Marfo, former President of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), has argued that recent government projects, including the construction of hostels and training programmes for female head porters, popularly known as kayayei, will encourage rural-urban migration.

The Provost of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CoHSS) at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) advised Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to ensure that the kayayeis find employment in their hometowns to prevent them from moving to the cities, rather than encouraging them.

Speaking on a panel discussion on Oyerepa TV on June 20, 2024, he stated that providing incentives for people to remain in their home regions would be more effective than building facilities in Accra.

“I believe it is a retrogressive measure; such initiatives always set us back because we aim to stop rural-urban migration. In an attempt to do that, you don't build an edifice in Accra. You would only be calling them to come to Accra.

“This is a common economic indicator... One would have thought that they would be given incentives to stay back. So, if you build hostels and train those coming to Accra, and give them money to work, who is going to ensure that after six months they won’t leave Accra and return to the North? And if all of them leave, no one would be here,” he said.

Recently, Vice President Bawumia inaugurated a state-of-the-art hostel facility for female porters, primarily from the northern parts of Ghana.

The initiative also included training and education sessions aimed at equipping these women with essential survival skills.

The first batch of beneficiaries has already graduated and received startup capital to launch their businesses.



AM/SARA

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