CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

        Study Background

Urbanization is fast becoming one of the most topical issues around the globe. This is partly due to the rapid population growth of cities and big towns since the 1950s, and its associated problems. Currently, more than half of the world’s population live in urban centres, and it is projected that by 2050, this figure will rise to 75% (UN DESA, 2015). The growth in urban populations has been linked largely to migration. International migration, for instance, plays pivotal role in urban population growths. In 2010, more than 200 million people lived in cities outside their home country (UNDP, 2009). Nearly one in five of the world foreign-born population resides in the established global gateway cities (Çağlar, 2014). In many of these cities such as Sydney, London and New York, migrants represent over a third of the population and in some cities such as Brussels and Dubai, migrants account for more than half of the population (ibid).

However, developing countries and emerging economies currently experience the fastest rates of urbanization. There are twice as many people (2.3 billion) living in urban agglomerations in developing countries as there are people living in cities in industrialised nations, and by 2030 there will be four times as many people living in developing cities compared to industrialised cities, totalling 3.9 billion people (UN-Habitat, 2014). The rate of urban population growth in developing countries is unprecedented with the current rate at 3.5% per annum. Although within developing countries Africa is not experiencing the highest rate of urban population growth, it is still a significant phenomenon on the continent given the management challenges that is associated with African cities when it comes to urbanization (Songsore, 2009). In 1950, about 14.5% of the population in Africa lived in urban centres whilst in 1980 and 1990, 28% and 34% respectively lived in urban centres (UN-Habitat, 2014).

In Africa, international migration receives a lot of attention in debates. However, internal migration is far more significant in terms of the total number of people involved, the remittances that accrue and its poverty reduction potential (UNDP, 2009). The increasing urban population in Africa is attributed mostly to rural-urban migration. Although there exist multivariate factors that account for movement of people from the rural to urban centres, economic factors and improved wellbeing account for majority of these movements (Awumbila, 2015). Most people especially the youth move into urban areas in search of better jobs and improved living conditions. It must be emphasized however that, the fast rate of urbanization and rising migration to cities comes along with both risks and opportunities for the migrants, the communities in which they settle and governments (Awumbila, 2014).

Urbanization and urban areas are seen as engine rooms for human development (UN-Habitat, 2012). Cities in Africa provide avenues for migrants to develop livelihoods, engage in entrepreneurship and accumulate assets, thus contributing to the development of human capital (Awumbila, 2014). Conversely, the capacity of towns and cities to plan for and accommodate the increasing number of migrants by providing employment and access to land and basic amenities is limited in Africa and other developing countries (Songsore, 2009). The provision of essential services and other basic social amenities are hugely inadequate for migrants in African cities. Rural-urban migration is seen as creating pressure on urban infrastructure, environment and employment. Rural migrants in urban centres are therefore seen as trading their rural poverty for urban poverty; a phenomenon linked to rising levels of urban poverty (Awumbila, Owusu and Teye, 2014).

In Ghana, the issue of urban population growth and its associated problems and opportunities is not too different from the rest of the continent. Over the past three decades, the population of urban centres in Ghana has more than tripled, rising from 4 million in 1980 to nearly 14 million in 2010 (Crookes, 2015). Due to the non-commensurate population growth in urban centres with the urbanization process itself (i.e. extension of social services, increased job creation, growth of infrastructure, etc.), migrants face a lot of challenges that contributes to poverty especially in low income communities (Songsore, 2009). Accommodation is hugely inadequate in these migrant communities and city authorities and the government seem to have neglected these communities in terms of the provision of services and infrastructure. Migrants therefore adopt different strategies to survive which have poverty implications (Awumbila, 2014).

Although in a broader sense poverty levels in urban Ghana and for that matter Accra are lower than that of rural Ghana, evidence suggests that the poverty levels in urban areas are on the rise (GSS, 2007). For example, Accra after six rounds of the Ghana Living Standards Survey, has increased significantly its standard poverty incidence from 4.4 per cent in 1999 to 6.6% in 2015. However, poverty in Accra is not homogenous as some districts or localities record higher incidences of poverty compared to others. For instance, La Dade Kotopon Municipal has the least poverty incidence of 1.3% followed by Accra Metropolis and La Nkwantanang Madina with 2.6% and 2.8% respectively. On the other hand, the Shai Osudoku (55.1%) and Ningo Prampram (31.2%) have the highest poverty incidence with rates more than four times the regional average (GSS, 2015).

It is key to observe that the districts with highest incidence of poverty are all indigenous communities with relatively low number of migrants compared to those with less incidence of

poverty. This does not go to suggest that poverty incidence in communities with higher percentage of migrants is insignificant. Within the districts with low incidence of poverty there are pockets of settlements that experience high rates of poverty. In Accra, migrant communities such as Old Fadama are considered one of the areas with high incidence of poverty in the capital city. Social services such as health facilities, access to potable drinking water, good shelter, among others are lacking in these communities making residents relatively poorer (Awumbila et al., 2014).

There have also been contrary views when it comes to the issue of poverty among migrants in the urban centres. According to Sabates-Wheeler et al (2005), rural urban migration leads to a long- term effect of alleviating migrants from poverty and presenting them with opportunities. Reactions on the relationship between migration and poverty is therefore mixed given that whilst some believe there is a positive relationship, other evidence suggest otherwise. It is therefore appropriate that the connections that exist between migration and poverty in the urban centre are explored. It is against this background that the study focused on the effects of rural urban migration on socio- economic status among migrants in the Abosey Okai Zongo in the Ablekuma Central sub-metro of AMA.