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1
Country Paper:
Ghana
2008
Paper prepared as part of the African Perspectives on Human Mobility Programme,
generously funded by the MacArthur Foundation.
MIGRATION COUNTRY PAPER
(GHANA)
By
Mariama Awumbila
Takyiwaa Manuh
Peter Quartey
Cynthia Addoquaye Tagoe
Thomas Antwi Bosiakoh
CENTRE FOR MIGRATION STUDIES
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA
2
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 scant. 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.
For many decades, a country of net immigration, where the number of people entering
far surpassed the number leaving, the country saw a reversal of migration trends from
the late 1960s with a decline in the economy, coupled with political instability and
Ghana became a country of net emigration. Since the last two decades however, new
migration dynamics have emerged in Ghana with globalization, shifts in the global
political economy, as well as from the economic and political stabilisation of the
country. These have brought about increasing diversity and complexity not only in
internal mobility patterns but also in international movements, thus making Ghana to
simultaneously experience internal migration, immigration, transit migration and
emigration both within and outside Africa.
This report provides an account of the evolution of migration in Ghana and highlights
the changing trends and dynamics that have occurred. The paper begins by providing
a situational analysis of the socio-economic environment of the country and an
historical context to migration in Ghana. The paper then discusses the different
trajectories of migration research and highlights the changing trends and theoretical
orientations in migration research in Ghana. The report also discusses the changing
causes, drivers of migration and emerging issues on migration in Ghana. Key gaps
and unanswered questions in Ghanaian migration research are identified and emerging
areas that may be considered for future migration research such as migrant labour and
the potential of the recent petro-chemical industry in Ghana for changing and
accentuating migration dynamics in Ghana are highlighted. A profile of stakeholders
in migration research in Ghana, as well as organizations, institutions, networks and a
list of researchers on migration in Ghana are also appended.
3
Ghana: A Country Context
Ghana is located in West Africa and shares boundaries with three countries, Cote
d’Ivoire in the West, Burkina Faso in the North and Togo in the East. It shares a
frontier in the South with the Gulf of Guinea. The country’s population in 2000 was
18,845,265 (GSS, 2002). It was estimated to be 23 million in 2007 (PRB, 2007) and
currently stands at 23.9 million (PRB, 2008). With a land area of 238,537 sq. km,
Ghana is administratively divided into 10 regions and 170 districts. In line with the
decentralization policy of government, district assemblies were established in 1988
and charged with the implementation of national policies related to governance,
education, health and agricultural development at the local level, contextualized to
suit local priorities and needs. The country has had both military and civilian
administrations since independence and is currently under a democratic government.
While the democratic dispensation of the country has been hailed both nationally and
internationally, Ghana’s economic situation has been a concern for some time now.
Gross Domestic Product was $12.5 billion and Per Capita Income was $540 in 2006
1
.
GDP growth has been positive and rising since the economic reforms were instituted
in 1983. The economy of Ghana grew by 6.2% in 2006 and 6.3% in 2007 (ISSER,
2008). Prior to that, real GDP growth averaged 4.7% between 1997 and 2005
(ISSER, 2008). The economy is largely agrarian and dependent on a small number of
key exports principally cocoa, timber and gold, although more recently it has
developed a burgeoning service sector. Gold dominates the mining sector and
contributes 30% of foreign exchange earnings. Ghana also produces diamonds,
manganese and bauxite. Ghana is a major cocoa producer; in 2006, with an output of
740,000 tonnes, the country retained her position as the second largest producer of
cocoa in the world, a position the country had not held for 3 decades before 2003. In
2007, Ghana discovered oil in commercial quantities. Currently, with the discovery of
more oil off the shores of the country over the past year, it is expected that Ghana will
emerge as a significant West African hydrocarbon province and with this, the once-
importer of crude oil can become an exporter. The prudent management of this
resource has the potential of diversifying the economy and reducing the dependence
1
Cf. http://www.state.gov./r/pa/ei/bgn/2860.htm
4
on agricultural products and ultimately contributing to poverty reduction and
development in the country.
The country’s economy is also donor-dependent. This is reflected in the yearly
budgetary support the country receives from her development partners. For instance in
2006, total grant disbursements to the country amounted to $565.0 million
2
while
multilateral HIPC assistance, programme grants and project grants also amounted to
$56.6 million, $122.8 million and $189.7 million respectively. Total loans for that
year amounted to $359.5 million while exceptional financing of the budget, which
was predominantly debt relief from the country’s bilateral partners totalled $80.0
million(Republic of Ghana, 2007). Whereas external debt has declined over the past 5
years due to the HIPC initiative and the Multi-lateral Debt Relief Initiative, domestic
debt has been rising. The country opted for the Highly Indebted Poor Countries
(HIPC) initiative in February 2001 and this generated more than $3.5 billion of debt
relief. This enabled the country to increase its expenditure on education and other
socially-sensitive sectors of the economy.
Since 2001, the government of Ghana has achieved some success in stabilising the
macro-economy. This was initially at the instance of high gold and cocoa prices, and
later the introduction of tighter monetary, fiscal and exchange rate policies. In 2002,
Ghana’s development strategies were consolidated into the Ghana Poverty Reduction
Strategy (GPRS 2003-2005), now renamed the Growth and Poverty Reduction
Strategy, 2006-2009.
The incidence of poverty
3
during the past decade has also declined though it still
remains a matter of concern. It declined from 52 percent in 1991/92 to 39 percent in
1998/99 and to 28 percent in 2007 (GSS, 2008). In a bid to further reduce poverty and
achieve its millennium development goals, the Ghanaian Government has made some
improvements in the area of the provision of social services in the recent past. In the
health sector, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and free maternal health
care services for pregnant women have been introduced, while the Capitation Grant,
Free Ride for School Children and School Feeding Programme have been introduced
2
In 2006, the dollar was averagely ¢9,325.00
3
Living below a dollar a day
5
in the education sector. Other initiatives such as the National Youth Employment
Programme (NYEP), the Metro Mass Transit System and the Livelihood
Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme have also been introduced.
Though government programmes, these initiatives in some cases involve private
sector partnership or donor support largely in the form of funding. The Metro Mass
Transit System for instance, is 45 percent government-owned with the rest in the
hands of private institutions. In the case of the LEAP, the Department for
International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom and United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are cited as having provided funding support to build the
technical capacity of the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment (MMYE)
and the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) to develop and implement the
programme which is aimed at providing financial assistance to the 18.2 percent of
Ghanaians who are considered extremely poor and vulnerable according to the fifth
round of the Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS) of 2005/2006.
Despite this progress, Ghana still faces significant development challenges. In the
area of migration, the exodus of both skilled and unskilled workers from Ghana is
well known. Notable among these skilled workers are those in the health and teaching
sectors who are very important to the socioeconomic development of the country and
the health and wealth of the people. Reasons such as inadequate salaries for workers
in the public sector, the failure of government to initiate pay reform, and the lack of
job opportunities in the private sector have all been cited as contributing to Ghana’s
difficulties in retaining them. Other factors include lack of working equipment and
infrastructural development as well as the desire to improve upon knowledge and
skills. These factors have, to some extent, accounted for the emigration of students,
skilled and unskilled labour to the developed regions of the world and other parts of
the African continent. It is against this background that Ghana’s migration profile has
been prepared to highlight the movements within, from and into the country.
The History of Migration in Ghana
There is a long history of migration (both internal and international) in Ghana (Peil,
1974). What is also certain is that initially, much of the migration in the 1960s was
within the borders of the country and involved groups and individuals of different
6
ethnic groups moving into others in search of security during the period of
internecine warfare, and for new land safe for settlement and fertile for farming (see
Wyllie 1977; Boahen 1975).This came to be termed as rural-urban, rural-rural and
urban-rural migrations during the post independence period (Addo 1968, 1971,
1981, Caldwell 1968, 1969; De Graft-Johnson, 1974; Arthur 1991; Twumasi-
Ankrah 1995; Simon et al., 2004). Many farmers and farm employees moved
internally from their natal regions into other regions (see Addae-Mensah 1983,
1985; Addo, 1971). From time immemorial as Addae-Mensah observed, farmers
migrated in search of empty land for the cultivation of both food crops and cash
crops. The introduction of cocoa in the late nineteenth century resulted in
unprecedented migration of farmers around Ghana (Hill, 1963).
Such migrations led to socio-economic change. According to Addo (1968) migrants
influenced socio-economic change by making their skills available where they were
most needed, by bringing new sense of values and new modes of economic
behaviour into established enterprises, by introducing new skills into the economic
life of the receiving areas, and sometimes by opening up the possibility of profitable
investment in the areas where they lived. Addae-Mensah (1983) added migrants’
influence in effecting change in their destinations. He suggested in the case of
farmers in Wassa-Amenfi district that, they commanded control over property
especially of large farms of cash crops and other foodstuff in the area. Other
migrants from the Brong-Ahafo, Ashanti, Volta, as well as Gas, Akwapims and
Fantis in the Sefwi area either owned farm lands bought from the Sefwi chiefs and
head of families or worked as share croppers (Adu, 2005).
Apart from these studies, there are a number of studies (both past and present) that
explore North-South migration in Ghana (see Oppong, 1967; Nabila, 1975, Zeng,
1993; Pellow, 2001; Mensah-Bonsu, 2003; Sulemana, 2003; Kubon, 2004; Hashim
2005a, 2005b, 2007; Meier, 2005; Kwankye et al, 2007). In recent times, the studies
on the north-south migration phenomenon in Ghana have shifted to examine the
emerging trend of the youth particularly young females from the northern parts of
Ghana to the southern cities, particularly Accra and Kumasi to engage in menial jobs
(Whithead and Hashim, 2005, Awumbila and Ardayfio-Schandorf, 2008).
7
Despite the obvious dominance of internal migration in the early period,
international migration also occurred, albeit at a minimal level. While migration out
of Ghana involved few people, mostly students and professionals to the United
Kingdom as a result of colonial ties (Anarfi, et al. 2000; Anarfi, et al. 2003) and
other English-speaking countries such as Canada (see Owusu, 2000), migration to
Ghana was visible and clear and its documentation dates back to the pre-colonial
period. Rouch (1954) for instance mentions Wangara migrants in Ghana in the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries while Peil (1974) also highlights migrant labourers
and workers who came into the country with the development of cocoa farming,
mines and railways in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Peil also
contends for instance that ‘at one period, British boats stopped regularly on the Kru
coast of Liberia to pick up workers for the Gold Coast harbours and mines’ (Peil,
1974: 368). The result of these was that, in the case of commerce, traders of foreign
origin were well established in market centres of Ghana’s north and in Kumasi by
the beginning of the colonial era. Sutton (1983) corroborates Peil’s assertion and
argues that, with very little from the north of Ghana and virtually none from the
south, much of the labour force in Ghana’s mines in the early twentieth century were
from neighbouring West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria (See
also Beals and Menezes, 1970; Harvey and Brand, 1974).
After its independence, Ghana’s relative affluence compared to her neighbours
continued to attract migrants (Antwi Bosiakoh, 2008). A rise in employment
opportunities, the development of industry and higher wages, especially in urban
areas, made the Ghanaian economy attractive and therefore induced not only rural-
urban migration, but sub-regional migration as well. This migrant-receiving status
was strengthened by Nkrumah’s foreign policy which, among other things was
geared towards the promotion of pan-Africanism. This made Ghana conscious of her
role in the independence of the rest of Africa (Brydon, 1985).
According to Brydon, a number of African freedom fighters and pan-Africanists
entered the country, describing it as ‘a haven’ and ‘Nkrumah's promulgation of a
country-wide policy of universal primary education at that time, earned the country
a reputation as a civilized state’ (Brydon, 1985:569). In the 1960 census for
example, immigrants accounted for 12 per cent of the enumerated population.
8
Migrants from other African countries constituted 98 per cent of the foreign-born
population (Anarfi, et al., 2000; 2003). Some sources
4
suggest that, by 1969, when
many ‘aliens’ were expelled, Ghana's alien community constituted about 2 million
out of its population of about 8.4 million (cf. Antwi Bosiakoh, 2008). Clearly,
Ghana had assumed the status of a net immigration country.
Many factors account for movements of Ghanaians within and out of the country.
Migration literature on Ghana has identified these at both the internal and
international levels. Internally, the old North-South pattern continues which,
according to Black et al (2006) is fueled by infertile soils and lack of local services
in Ghana’s North. Accordingly, Mensah-Bonsu (2003) argues that rural out-
migration in northeast Ghana is for employment purposes, and that, it is dominated
by young people. There have also been forced migrations in Ghana. For instance,
Black et al (2006:33) observe that, from 1994 to 1995, about 100,000 people were
estimated to have been forced out of their homes in northern Ghana as a result of
ethnic conflict.
On the international level, Peil (1995) identified Ghana's economy and educational
system as basic causes of the large scale emigration of Ghanaians and argued that,
the situation in Ghana offered few opportunities for the then growing population.
But various reasons including employment, education and training underlie much of
Ghanaian migration to other West African states, as well as to Europe and North
America (see Nuro 1999). Moreover, Fosu (1992) observes that political instability
can also be attributed to the increase in Ghana’s international out-migration in the
late 1970s and early 1980s (Fosu 1992; cf. Anarfi et al., 2003).
However, the period of large-scale emigration started in the 1970s and 1980s. The
Convention Peoples Party (CPP) had maintained a liberal immigration policy given
the party and government’s pan-Africanist ideological orientation and the concern to
make Ghana the leader of African unity (Dzorgbo, 1998). This was cut short by the
promulgation of the Aliens’ Compliance Order in 1969 which saw the expulsion of a
large number of immigrants in Ghana in the same year. The order required of all
4
See http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/index.html
9
aliens in the country to be in possession of residence permit if they did not already
have it or to obtain it within a two-week period.
The order earned the then Busia-led Ghanaian government the displeasure of some
West African governments especially Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Mali, Niger, Ivory
Coast and Burkina Faso whose nationals were mostly affected by the expulsion.
Besides, the 1969 Order also affected Ghana’s image in mainland Africa and the rest
of the world (Dzorgbo 1998:117). It must however be pointed out that, in West
Africa, Ghana was hardly alone in the expulsion of alien populations. Adepoju
(2005:5) provides examples of some West African countries which also expelled
nationals of foreign origin including Ivory Coast in 1958 and 1964, Senegal in 1967,
Sierra-Leone in 1968 and Nigeria in 1983 and 1985. These examples show that a
number of West African countries resorted to expulsion as an option for dealing
with immigrants.
In the Ghanaian case, the expulsion ‘had a mild ameliorative effect on the temper of
Ghanaians’ and a debatable economic advantage for Ghana (Brydon, 1985). Indeed
Brydon interprets the expulsions in Ghana in adverse terms since, ‘aliens took with
them capital, and in addition, a large part of the Ghanaian trading nexus was
destroyed’ (Brydon, 1985:564). Following the Order in 1969, the economic
policies pursued in the 1970s by the National Redemption Council and the Supreme
Military Council (1972-1978) and the frequent changes in government as well as the
non-continuity of policies (see Addo, 1981), created an economic downturn in
Ghana. According to Dzorgbo (1998:207) the country’s inflation, unemployment
and underemployment figures increased; and the national currency devalued. There
was a general lack of confidence in the Ghanaian economy.
The result of these was that, for some Ghanaians, a close exit option through
migration was pursued. According to Manuh (2001: 19), migration emerged as a
‘tried and tested strategy’ for dealing with the ‘deteriorating economic and social
conditions’. This set the stage for large-scale emigration of Ghanaians to African
countries and the world at large which continues till date (see Table 1 below).
Middle-cycle school teachers, doctors, and members of faculties of Universities left
10
their posts for other prosperous African countries as well as Europe and North
America (Dzorgbo 1998).
Table 1: International Migration Statistics By Nationality: Departure
Region/Country 1999 2000 2001 2002
AFRICA
Ghana
Nigeria
Cote d’Ivoire
Burkina Faso
Benin
Burkina Faso
Liberia
Togo
143,109
75,843
20,005
12,083
3,440
8,936
3,440
3,549
6,903
225,448
110,718
40,753
11,168
10,044
9,469
10,044
7,575
13,885
288,329
121,159
53,884
30,043
4,536
20,211
4,536
11,845
16,420
224,845
158,212
22,768
3,873
2,669
3,378
2,669
6,757
4,574
EUROPE 33,425 56,558 46,846 61,124
ASIA 7,328 12,118 15,000 18,296
LATIN AMERICA 162 988 1,297 1,051
NORTH AMERICA 22,688 120,216 26,698 36,812
OCEANIA 1,585 25,102 1,903 1,561
TOTAL 208,897 440,430 380,073 343,689
Source: Adapted from Twum-Baah (2005)
Table one shows movement out of Ghana by nationality. Not only do Ghanaians
form the majority of those leaving the country, but this trend increased, more than
doubling between 1999 and 2002. However this table must be interpreted with
caution as it does not indicate the duration of stay outside Ghana.
In the particular case of migration of health professionals (see Table 2 below), it is
estimated that over half of doctors trained in Ghana have migrated
5
. According to
Mensah et al (2005), between 1999 and 2004, the total number of doctors registered in
the UK and trained in Ghana, doubled from 143 to 293.3. In addition, there were 40
new registrations of Ghanaian nurses in 1998/9 and by 2003/4 an estimated
cumulative total of 1021 had registered. The substantial decrease in 2004 in the
5
See Save the Children’s briefing titled ‘Whose Charity? Africa’s Aid to the NHS’ (2005).
Save the Children is an NGO. The briefing is available at www.medact.org
11
number of health workers who emigrated may be attributed to the introduction of
government interventions to improve the conditions of service of health workers,
which included increases in basic salaries and allowances, the introduction of the
additional duty hour allowance (ADHA) for health workers in 1998, incentive
schemes such as housing and car laons, study leave with pay, the establishment of the
Deprived Area Incentive Allowance (DAIA) and the establishment of the College of
Physicians and Surgeons to provide and supervise post graduate medical training in
Ghana. The introduction of “ethical”
6
recruitment policies in some receiving countries
such as UK, may also have accounted for this decrease in the migration of Ghanaian
health workers. Nevertheless its general impact on migration of workers from this
sector has had mixed results. (Mensah et al, 2005).
Table 2: Brain Drain of Health Workers, 1999-2004
Main Cadres 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Total
Doctors 72 52 62 105 117 40
448
Pharmacists 49 24 58 84 95 30
340
Allied Health Workers 9 16 14 12 10 8
69
Nurses/Midwives 215 207 235 246 252 82
1237
Source: Ministry of Health, 2005, Cf. Awumbila, 2007
It is however becoming increasingly evident that socio-cultural and other non-
economic factors are also very important, and that a realistic explanation of
Ghanaian (and indeed African) migration should be multi-disciplinary (Achanfuo-
Yeboah, 1993). For instance some evidence, though anecdotal, suggest that
Ghanaian international migration destinations in recent times show sophistication
and dynamism. The evidence points to countries in Asia and the Far East such as
China, Malaysia and Dubai. These reflect the tremendous importance these countries
and regions have attained in global political and economic affairs.
6
In the United Kingdom for example, The UK Department of health has since 1999 developed
and gradually strengthened a Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Healthcare
professionals (Department of Health 2004) which requires the National Health Service
employers not to actively recruit from developing countries unless there is a government-to-
government agreement.
12
Different Trajectories of Migration Research
Internal Migration
Much of the migration research in Ghana has focused on the role of migrants (both
internal and international) in the development of Ghana’s cocoa industry (Skinner,
1960; Hill, 1961; 1963; 1970; Beals and Menezes, 1970; Thomas, 1973; Peil, 1974;
Plange, 1979; Sutton, 1983; Addae-Mensah, 1983; 1985; Arhin, 1988; Cleveland,
1991; Dumett, 1999; Duodu, 2004; Adu, 2005; Abdul-Korah, 2007). Other themes
in the research include the evolution of migrant communities, specifically the
Zongo
7
(Harvey and Brand, 1974; Kpormegbe, 1993; Pellow, 2002; 1991;
Schildkrout 1978; Schwimmer, 1980), migrants in what Clark calls ‘the market
place system’ (Clark, 1994; see also Eades, 1994) and the role of migrants in the
development of the mining industry in Ghana (Skinner 1960; Greenstreet, 1972;
Thomas, 1973; Peil, 1974; Plange, 1979; Cleveland, 1991). Such focus on migration
is due to its demographic, economic and socio-cultural implications not only for the
origin areas as well as destination areas but also the actors (migrants) involved.
Many of these studies show that migration in Ghana up to the 1970s was mainly the
country, with in-migration affecting social organisation, agriculture and population
dynamics (Cleveland, 1991).
There are other studies on migrant communities. This includes Pellow’s work on the
evolution of Sabon Zongo, one of Accra’s Zongos (Pellow, 1991) and Eades’ study
on the activities of Yoruba migrants of Nigeria in Northern Ghana (Eades, 1993) as
mentioned earlier.
International Migration and Brain Drain
The literature on international migration indicates extensive research on the
emigration of labour namely skilled and unskilled or semi-skilled who moved out
7
Zongo is a word which originates from the Sahel region of the north and means ‘caravan’
and was once used to describe the areas where trans-Saharan traders would rest their ware-
loaded camels as they stopped on the fringes of towns and settlements in the south to barter
cattle and cloth for salt and Ashanti gold. In Ghana, it is used broadly to refer to a stranger
community specifically created and inhabited by northern migrants. The Zongo is
characterized by overcrowding, inadequate sanitation and dilapidated buildings.
13
for greener pastures with the economic downturn in the mid 1960s. Studies on
international migration also focused on the emigration of skilled professionals in the
health and educational sectors for obvious developmental reasons. These movements
were both within the continent and to intercontinental destinations of Europe and
North America (Anarfi et al., 2000; 2003; Owusu, 2000; Kabki, 2007). In some
cases, some Ghanaians returned to the countries in which they had been trained to
work, while others who travelled initially for education and/or training stayed
behind after their programme of study for employment (Anarfi et al., 2000; 2003). In
the case of health professionals leaving the country, many studies considering the
causes and the consequences of their movement and its implications to the
development of the country have been done (Adepoju, 2002; Avenorgbo, 2003;
Mensah et al., 2005, Bump, 2006; Manuh, 2005).
Remittances and Transnationalism
With the rest of international migration, issues of transnationalism (Mazzucato,
2006; 2007; 2008; Akyeampong, 2006; Wong, 2006: Lothar, 2007; Riccio, 2008)
and remittances have occupied studies in this direction. Arguments for and against
the benefit of remittances as against the human resources lost to the developed
countries are still ongoing in migration development discourse (Manuh, 2001;
Olesen, 2002; Quartey and Blankson, 2004; Wong, 2006; Owusu-Ankomah, 2006;
Quartey, 2006a; 2006b; 2006c; 2006d; Riccio, 2008).
Diaspora Formation
Studies on the Ghanaian Diaspora have also been done with their presence all over
Europe, North America and elsewhere (Higazi, 2005, Arthur, 2008). In 1995, Peil
estimated that, at least one-tenth of the Ghanaian population lived abroad: in Africa,
North America, Europe, Asia and Australia (Peil, 1995). According to Van Hear
(1998), Ghana is one of the ten countries that have produced and are involved in
producing a ‘new diaspora’ in recent times. Ghanaians are now found in every
country, rich or poor, and therefore the focus on colonial links particularly to the
United Kingdom, for explaining migration patterns in Ghana cannot be used To a
large extent, it appears that considerations of language, religion and cultural affinity
cannot fully explain contemporary Ghanaian international migration. As a result,
14
cities such as New York, Amsterdam, Toronto and Hamburg - show very
appreciable presence of Ghanaian migrants.
In their new destinations, Ghanaians have constituted themselves into immigrant
organizations
8
to ensure their survival and adjustment (see Atta-Poku, 1996; Owusu,
2000; Orozco and Rouse, 2007). They help migrants to forge durable social
networks and facilitate migrants’ settling and integration processes. In the United
States and Canada where studies are available (see Atta-Poku 1996, Owusu 2000),
these associations constitute important rallying point for Ghanaian migrants’ cultural
affirmation. Ghanaian migrants also utilize these associations as resources to
enhance their participation in the social and economic activities at their destinations.
In the absence of any census study on the number of Ghanaian diaspora
organizations at any level, Orozco and Rouse in 2007 estimated Ghanaian diaspora
organisations world-wide to be about 500 (Orozco and Rouse, 2007; cf. Antwi
Bosiakoh, 2008).
Some Ghanaians have also employed religion as an intermediary tool for identity
formation and identity affirmation in the diaspora. When Van Dijk (1997) uses
‘Ghanaian Pentecostal diaspora’ in the Dutch society, or the much broader
description ‘localisation and Ghanaian pentecostalism’ in Botswana (Van Dijk,
2003), there is a single underlying theme of the role religion appears to play in the
formation of identity among Ghanaians in foreign lands. Mazzucato (2006) also
indicates that with the firm grounding of hometown associations, some members
have transformed them into an opportunity for fund raising to support development
projects such as schools or clinics in the home area.
Other areas of study border on the expulsion of Ghanaians from Nigeria and what
was also the case in Ghana with the promulgation and implementation of the Alien
Compliance Order of 1969 which saw the expulsion of a large number of
immigrants in Ghana in the same year ((Brydon, 1985; Dzorgbo, 1998; Adepoju,
2005). The order required of all aliens in the country to be in possession of residence
8
Immigrant organisations are sometimes referred to as migrant associations (see Antwi
Bosiakoh, 2008:10) and refer to all organisations, unions, groups and other alliances migrants
form to take care of their needs in their destination.
15
permit if they did not already have it or to obtain it within a two-week period. (see
Adepoju, 1984; Fafowora, 1983; Gravil, 1985). These expulsions also received
widespread academic consideration including the reactions of Ghanaians to the
expulsions (see Brydon 1985, Arhin 1991). Dei (1991) also details the integration
and rehabilitation of expelled Ghanaian migrants from Nigeria into the local
domestic economy in Ghana, emphasizing particularly, returnees’ reliance on social
networks, community bonding and the organizational capabilities of traditional
polities to respond to socioeconomic stress caused by the sudden return. The
argument that migrants become the first scapegoats when destination countries
encounter economic difficulties (Peil, 1974; Adepoju, 1984; 2005; Brydon 1985) is
also highlighted.
Gender and Migration
Another trajectory of Ghanaian migration research in the last decade of the 20
th
century relates to gender and migration, especially gender selective migration (see
Chant, 1992). The feminization of migration is illustrated in studies on both internal
and international migration of Ghanaians. In the past, women moved in their capacity
as accompanying spouses and these movements were over short distances. For
instance Surdakasa (1977) observes that, until the 1970s, the size of the female
component of Ghanaian migration was small. The focus was on male migrants who
had migrated to coastal Ghana for fishing or from the north to the south for farming.
Any reference to female migrants, according to Surdakasa (1977), related to wives left
behind to tend the farms, care for the children and maintain village cohesion.
In contemporary times however, women move independently within and outside the
country for economic as well as other reasons such as education and career
development. Amankwah (1984) and Anarfi (1989) documented this movement of
women to Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire while Abrefa-Gyan (2002) documents this
movement internally. While some earlier studies (Pool, 1972; Sudarkasa, 1977;
Oppong and Abu, 1987) draw attention to the effect of women’s migration on their
lives and reproductive roles, most current studies emphasis the economic and social
independence and reproductive role of women and the young female (Brydon, 1992;
Appiah, 2000; Tanle, 2003; Wong, 2006, Awumbila and Ardayfio-Schandorf, 2008).
16
The changing labour market trends and the increasing participation of women in the
global workforce have increased opportunities for skilled female migrants. In the area
of health care, women dominate the nursing sector and have formed a large part of
the skilled labour migration out of Ghana. As table two indicates, nurses and
midwives form the majority of health worker migration in Ghana. Although several
studies have been undertaken on the migration of skilled healthcare workers from
Ghana (Nyonator and Dovlo, 2004, Mensah et al, 2005) and its impact on the health
care sector, very little has been done in terms of a gender analysis of the Ghanaian
health worker migration.
Return Migration
Meanwhile, evidence of return migration in the literature on Ghanaian international
migration started from the 1980s. Beginning from the early 1980s when Ghanaians
migrants were expelled from Nigeria, a series of voluntary and involuntary return
migration of Ghanaians have occurred. During the fourteen-year civil war in Liberia,
Ghanaians in that country had to return to their country, Ghana, to the care of their
relatives in what Dekker (1995) described as a ‘forced homecoming’. But home
coming of Ghanaians in the diaspora has not always been by compulsion. For
instance while Ammassari (2004) explores home coming from the view point of
nation-building and entrepreneurship, Black et al (2003) approaches home coming
from the view point of small enterprise development in Ghana and interrogates
whether small enterprise development provides a route for moving out of poverty.
Tiemoko (2004) also approaches home coming from the socioeconomic change it
appears to engender.
African Americans and people of African descent from the Caribbean and South
America have also migrated to Africa and Ghana since the eighteenth century (Lake,
1995). Related to this, Bruner (1996) interpreted the touristic pursuance of black
people from the diaspora to Ghana as the ‘return to motherland Africa’, specifically
to Ghana
9
. Both Lake (1995) and Bruner (1996) examined the process of identity
9
Bruner’s subject of study – the black diaspora – represents people whose movement from
their home countries was dictated by slavery. The work describes tourism as defining the
17
formation among diaspora Africans and Ghanaians in their ancestral land, Ghana,
through return migration. But while Lake focuses on those who have permanently
returned from their stay abroad, Bruner looks at those who continue to reside abroad
but are on touristic expedition to what they describe as their ancestral land.
It appears then that homecoming of Ghanaians abroad has not only been the concern
of individual migrants. Obviously these individuals have played significant roles in
this endeavour. Since the early 1990s however, Ghanaian governments have pursued
different return migration policies with the ultimate objective to attract skilled
Ghanaian nationals abroad. In the 1990s, Emancipation Day Celebrations were
instituted by the Rawlings-led government. This was part of the government’s
resolve to help African Americans and people of African descent most especially
from the Caribbean and South America to return to Africa and Ghana. In 2001, a
Homecoming Summit was organized by the Kufour administration to attract and tap
the potential and skills of Ghanaians in the diaspora to help the development of the
country. The objectives of the Summit were stated by Manuh and Asante (2005:298)
as follows: ‘to develop a process for the renewal of confidence of Ghanaians living
abroad and those at home, to enhance dialogue and explore opportunities for
productive relations between Ghanaians living abroad and their country, and to
identify the means to tap into the acquired capacities of Ghanaians living abroad for
the creation of the nation’s wealth’
10
. Return migration has also provided an
opportunity for the acquisition of skills, experience and knowledge. This has
resulted in `brain gain’ and or ‘brain circulation”. According to Sjenitzer and
Tiemoko (2003), return migration involves the transfer of skills back to Ghana and
job improvement on the part of return migrants. Evidence from the 1995 migration
survey (Twum-Baah, et al. 1995) indicates that some return migrants received
higher level formal education abroad, a useful contribution to human capital
formation for the country. Diko and Tipple (1992) also focus their work on
migration and long distance housing development by Ghanaians in London
meeting point or border zone between African American tourists who returned to the Elmina
Castle in Ghana, and the local Akan-speaking Fante people who received them.
10
For a detail evaluation of the Home Coming Summit, see Manuh, T. and R. Asante (2005).
‘Reaping the Gains of Ghanaians Overseas: An Evaluation of the Home Coming Summit of
2001’. In At Home in the World? International Migration and Development in Contemporary
Ghana and West Africa. Edited by Takyiwaa Manuh, Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers.
18
Changing Trends and Theoretical Orientations in
Migration Research in Ghana
This section discusses research on Ghanaian migration with a specific focus on the
empirical findings, changing trends and their theoretical orientations.
The Changing Causes and Drivers of Migration
The decision to migrate in Ghana has often been a response to a combination of
several factors, including economic, social and political and environmental factors
such as poverty, landlessness and economic dislocations. These factors are also often
linked tp factors such as trade, urbanisation and the growth of administrative sectors,
agriculture, land degradation and rural poverty to induce migration, both internal and
international.
Many studies in Ghana have identified rural-urban migration to be the most
predominant of all movements within Ghana (Addo, 1968; Caldwell, 1968; De Graft-
Johnson, 1974; Arthur, 1991; Twumasi-Ankrah, 1995). As this occurs, it has been
observed that, migrants have generally moved from resource-poor to resource-rich
areas, with a higher tendency for movements from the northern parts of the country to
the southern cities (Anarfi and Kwankye, 2003). In addition, some authors explain the
north-south pattern of migration to be due to spatial inequalities in levels of
development brought about by a combination of colonial and post-independence
economic policies and environmental factors among others (Awumbila, 1997;
Songsore and Denkabe, 1995; Awumbila and Momsen, 1995).
There are other studies that highlight economic factors as main causes especially of
internal migration in Ghana. Poverty and lack of employment opportunities have been
stated as main contributory factors for many young people moving from their rural
communities to urban centres (Adu-Gyamfi, 2001; Anarfi et al. 2003; Anarfi and
Kwankye, 2005). Findings of these research studies in Ghana have indicated that
traditionally, migration involved males who traveled over long distances as well as for
short to long periods to the agricultural and mining communities in the south (Nabila,
1975, Songsore, 2003). Female migration consisted of spouses joining their husbands
or relatives to help socially and economically (Boakye-Yiadom and Mckay, 2006).
19
These age long causes, though, still hold, tend to be static and do not recognise the
dynamism and complexities in migration and consider migrants especially child
migrants as passive actors in the migration literature (Hashim, 2004). Whitehead et
al. (2007:35) suggest that ‘child migration is frequently a negotiated decision in which
both parents and children strive to meet their own objectives’. Hence, besides,
poverty, socio-cultural factors such as marriage may account for the reason why a
young girl from the north will migrate to acquire household items for use after
marriage.
Recent studies however show a changing trend. Young females now form the
majority in internal migrations from northern Ghana to urban centres in the south.
They mostly work as ‘kayayei’, porters, in market centres and lorry stations
(Awumbila and Ardayfio-Schandorf, 2008, Anarfi and Kwankye 2003; 2005; Tanle,
2003). Many female migrants now move independently through networks of friends
and relations. This means that contrary to earlier studies that identified women as
migrating mostly to join partners therefore making them dependants, young females
in the current migration flow tend not to be just dependants but autonomous migrants
who have made their decision and move despite the fact that there may be no family
member at the destination area (Adepoju, 2004; Wiredu, 2004; Anarfi et al. 2006;
Whitehead et al. 2007). Recent migration literature also show that though generally,
there has been an upsurge in the number of migrants who are predominantly youth
and who also engage in irregular migration within and outside the African region,
including Ghana, migration is feminising (Adepoju, 2004). In the Ghanaian case, it
has to do with the young females who migrate from the northern regions to the cities
of Accra to engage mainly in the ‘kayayoo’ business. To the extent that there are
changing trends in migration flows with diversity in destinations, Adepoju (2004)
notes that there is a changing trend from labour migration to commercial migration
where people now travel with an alternative option of self-employment instead of
being migrants engaging in menial jobs. These changes confirm the complexities
associated with migration and the need to adopt a multidisciplinary approach in
researching these issues. This will enable different perspectives to be considered to
enrich the quality and reliability of migration data collected.
20
Poverty, lack of education and employment possibilities, the need to purchase items
for marriage and some socio-cultural factors have also contributed to the exodus of
migration, especially by female youth and children in Ghana in recent times
(Awumbila and Ardayfio-Schandorf, 2008). Poverty is often cited as a cause of
migration in Ghana (Nabila, 1975; Anarfi et al. 2003; Anarfi and Kwankye, 2005).
What is often lost in the literature however is that, while agreeing that migration can
result from poverty, it is not always the poorest and most destitute who migrate.
Poverty as a cause of migration operates under selective principle. The poorest are
often unable to afford the costs associated with migration. In addition, Awumbila and
Ardayfio-Schandorf, (2008) argue that, poverty may also be as a result of migration.
In families and communities where husbands and the active productive youth
populations have migrated, poverty among children, wives, elderly people and other
dependants may be worsened. This line of argument clearly interrogates the poverty-
migration nexus.
In the case of the poor, education as a cause of migration, (Adjei, 2006) provides
some new dimensions, even though it may also be linked to urbanisation. In general
the literature indicates a complex mix of factors have shaped peoples movements both
within and outside Ghana and that these have changed and are changing in response to
globalization and other socio-economic conditions.
Theoretical Perspectives in Ghanaian Migration Research
A number of theoretical connections can be found in Ghanaian migration research.
From early times, migration research in Ghana employed neo-classical equilibrium
perspective, particularly in analyzing labour migration to mining, ports and cocoa
growing areas of Ghana. The neo-classical equilibrium perspective on migration
postulates that, migration movements have propensity to follow definite spatial-
economic equilibrium, i.e. people move from relatively low to high income areas or
from densely to thinly populated areas (de Haas, 2008). A rise in employment
opportunities (on farms), the development of industry and higher wages (mines and
ports) in certain areas of Ghana made such areas economically attractive and therefore
induced migration from other deprived or resource poor areas (Hill 1963; Beals and
Menezes 1970; Addo 1971; 1981; Greenstreet 1972; De Graft-Johnson 1974; Ewusi
21
1977; Addae-Mensah 1983; 1985; Sutton 1983; Anarfi 1989; Agarwal 1997; Anarfi et
al 2000). This perspective underlies some of Ghana’s rural-urban migration in
particular and general internal migration in Ghana. Neo-classical equilibrium
perspective assumes that, the long term effect of this process is the removal of
whatever constituted motivation (incentive) for migration. In the Ghanaian case, the
motivations have not yet been dealt with.
Also, some migration researches in Ghana have been done within the ‘Push-Pull’
theoretical framework as postulated by Ravenstein (1889) in his work, ‘Laws of
Migration’. Ravenstein’s conclusions that unfavourable conditions in one place ‘push’
people out and favourable conditions in an external location ‘pull’ them in and that
the primary cause of migration is economic in nature, are still valid and have been
observed in many studies conducted in Ghana as have been cited earlier. The theory
of intervening obstacles by Lee (1966) also features in many Ghanaian migration
research and findings that have indicated that the distance factor as proposed by
Ravenstein (1889) as a determinant of migration could be overcome by factors such
as a person’s education and knowledge of potential receiving population or family
ties.
Many people, especially rural dwellers, who had their manpower and natural
resources depleted (Nabila 1975, 1986; Mensah-Bonsu 2003), and or witnessed high
population growth (Abdulai 1999) also saw migration to the urban areas as the only
way out. In a sense then, poorer regions and environments saw the survival of their
communities to be dependent on the extent to which they circulated their citizens
between different environments in search of necessary resources for existence (Beals
and Menezes 1970; Mensah-Bonsu 2003). Accordingly, theoretical perspectives that
inform much of these north-south as well as rural-urban migration movements in
Ghana are of neo-classical equilibrium origin.
Assimilation and segregation have also been employed in the analysis of some
studies. In her study on Ghana’s aliens for example, Peil (1974) makes use of
assimilation and segregation, arguing that, while aliens lived in Ghana, they ‘resisted
assimilation’. The aliens employed residential segregation, unique forms of social and
political organization as well as different religion and cultural traits to distinguish
22
themselves from the mainstream Ghanaian society (Dinan 1972. Cf Peil 1974).
Owusu (2000:1157) however rejects the assimilationist view because of what he calls
its ‘a priori value judgment concerning desirable outcomes’ and ‘ideological
overtones’. In place of assimilation, Owusu (2000) employs adaptation to study
Ghanaian immigrant associations in Toronto, Canada as they try to integrate. Attah-
Poku’s (1996) work on Asanteman Ethnic Association in New York also exudes
adaptation framework though transnationalist view is also evident. A careful
examination of Owusu’s (2000) work however reveals strong leaning towards social
capital theory and transnationalist proclivity. The work examines the various
economic, cultural, social and political functions and benefits of Ghanaian immigrant
associations in Toronto for the immigrants as well as immigrants’ use of their
associations to serve the needs of their homeland, Ghana, by contributing to
community development efforts, fighting for political rights and maintaining ties with
the homeland.
Talking about social capital, this framework has also received detailed application in
other Ghanaian migration studies. In the area of internal migration, references could
be made to Meier’s (2005) social peace among northern migrants in Accra and Tema,
and Andoh’s (2000) work on the decision to migrate. For Andoh (2000), the decision
to migrate to urban areas in Ghana depends on the information available. Andoh asks
where one gets the information to migrate? In answering this, Andoh employs
networks as the framework for understanding the sources of ideas which ultimately
lead to migration. Tonah (2005) also makes implied application of social networks.
At the international level, extensive applications of social capital and social networks
theories have been done by Smith (2005; 2007) and Antwi Bosiakoh (2008). Through
transnational lenses, Smith examines the intricate social networks that tie the
Ghanaian economy (the economy of Accra) to migrants (Smith 2007) and the issues
of transnational networks and social security regarding health, education and funerals
in Accra, Ghana (Smith 2005). On his part, Antwi Bosiakoh (2008) uses social capital
as an analytical framework to present micro level analysis of how Nigerian migrants
in Accra forge various social networks in Accra. He argues that these networks
provide various resources which the migrants tap into to enhance their stay in Ghana.
Some other applications of social capital theory in Ghanaian migration studies can be
23
found in Devyver’s (2005) strategies of West African migration to Western Europe,
and Krause’s (2008) transnational therapy networks.
At a more micro level analysis (i.e. at the level of individual decision making),
potential migrants act on available information from network of friends and relations
to arrive at the decision to migrate. Against this background, information-decision-
action perspective has been used to explain rural-urban migration decision processes
in Ghana (Bartle, 1971). For most youths, increased urban information from friends
results in familiarity with urban life while knowledge, even of pitfalls, is considered
an asset which facilitates the migration decision-making process and ultimately
contributes to the migration benefit aggregate (Bartle 1971). This theoretical view is
similar to social capital theory, chain migration and network theory in migration
studies and underlies some studies on north-south migration in Ghana.
Ghana’s transition from a net immigration to a net emigration country in the 1970s
and 80s is often attributed to internal political instability, economic mismanagement
and external conditions unfavourable to the Ghanaian economy (Peil 1995). As a
result, national mismanagement, economic difficulties and political problems seem to
have conspired to set in motion mass Ghanaian out-migration (the ‘push’ factor). On
the other hand, the booming economies in some African countries and in Europe also
constituted ‘lure’ (i.e. the ‘pull’ factor). Consequently, Ghanaian international
migration which effectively started the late 1970s has been interpreted with push-pull
theoretical views.
Some studies also do not make any substantive allusions to any particular theoretical
perspectives. For such studies, allusions to theories are rather implied. For most north-
south and rural-urban migration movements in Ghana, the incentives for migration
have largely been an expectation of better livelihood options in the destination regions
(Anarfi et al., 2003). This makes such migration movements consistent with the
principle of comparative advantage as well as rational choice theory. Also, giving the
benefits of migration (remittances) to kith and kin in sending areas, migration in
Ghana can be said to be grounded in human and social capital theories. It is grounded
in human capital theory because much of this migration is considered an investment
decision to boost the economic wellbeing of families. Actors in the migration process
24
gain from their ‘migration investment’. It is also grounded in social capital theory
because, relations of migrants in sending areas benefit from migrant remittances by
virtue of the ties they have and forge with the migrants.
Since the beginning of this century, international migration literature on Ghana has
increasingly recognized transnationalism and employed it as framework for analysis.
This is because, Ghanaian international migrants have assumed transnational
identities and together with their families, they live transnational lives. Living a
transnational life is made possible by advances in information and communication
technology (mobile phones and telephones, televisions (including satellite and cable
networks, internets etc) and cheaper air travel, thereby giving impetus to increased
flows of people, goods, money and ideas, which connect seemingly disparate
locations of the globe. As a result, transnationalism is the frame of reference for
analyzing much of these migration movements. For example it was the framework for
analyzing the double engagement (i.e. looking at migrants’ lives simultaneously from
the point of view of the home and the host country) of Ghanaians in Canada (Manuh
2001) and in the Netherlands (Mazzucato, 2005; 2006b). It was also the framework
for analyzing the economy and changing practices of funerals in Ghana (Mazzucato et
al., 2006), networks and legal status in securing a living in the Netherlands
(Mazzucato, 2007) as well as informal insurance arrangements of Ghanaian migrants
in the Netherlands (Mazzucato, 2006a). Other areas of application for transnationalist
perspectives include migrants’ influence on the economy of Accra (Smith 2007),
therapy networks (Krause, 2008) and the ways in which identities and obligations
operate to affect development (Mohan, 2006). Akyeampong (2005) has also employed
transnationalism to interrogate the emergence of drug trafficking in contemporary
Ghana and West Africa within the context of a global political economy. Here,
Akyeampong examines the earlier trafficking of cannabis along the coast of West
Africa in the colonial period, and then later, transnational networks that have emerged
to promote international drug trafficking, particularly of cocaine and heroin).
Emerging Issues in Ghanaian Migration
Research into international migration in Ghana has mainly emphasized remittances
because of the economic impacts associated with it both at the macro and micro
25
levels. At the macro level, remittances to Ghana are estimated to be equal to or more
than official development assistance and this seems to inform the focus on
international migration and why it has been so researched. Quartey for instance
assesses the impacts of remittances on household welfare generally in Ghana as well
as household welfare in times of macro-volatility situations (Quartey, 2006a; 2006d).
Again Quartey and Blankson (2004) have assessed remittances in terms of how they
cushion the poor in times of macro-volatility in Ghana. In addition, the impacts of
remittances have been explored in terms of their potential role in ensuring ‘shared
growth’ (Quartey, 2006b) and general development of sending countries, in this case
Ghana (Quartey, 2006c).
Kabki et al. (2004) have also examined the impacts of remittances from the ways in
which Netherlands-based Ghanaian migrants influence economic and social life in
rural areas in the Ashanti region in Ghana, both at family and village levels, focusing
the analysis on eight domains of economic life - investments in housing, business,
farm, education, community development projects, health care, and participation in
church and funerals. Wong (2006) has also approached remittances from the social
dynamics point of view, focusing on the cultural and gender-specific ways in which
women and their families negotiate remittances. There are other dimensions of
remittances in Ghanaian migration literature. This includes impacts on business
enterprises and the general economy (Black et al., 2003; Casini, 2005; Herman, 2006;
Smith, 2007) on housing construction (Poel, 2005) and on community development
(Mumuni, 2007). In general terms remittances from migrants feature prominently in
Ghanaian development and poverty reduction discourses.
International migration remains an important livelihood strategy for dealing with
declining socio-economic conditions (see Manuh, 2001). As such, many studies have
highlighted how Ghanaians have and continue to resort to international migration as
an option for pursuing better livelihoods, especially with increased globalisation.
Accordingly, transnationalism as a concept and a framework for analysis has been
used in different aspects of Ghanaian migration in contemporary times. It has been
used to examine the economy of funerals and changing practices in Ghana (see
Mazzucato, Kabki and Smith, 2006), development and integration policies
(Mazzucato, 2005; 2006; 2008) and networks (Mazzucato, 2007; Krause, 2008).
26
Riccio (2008) has also applied transnationalism in a study of Ghanaians in Italy
11
and
Miescher draws on the concept to explore the life history and subjective experience of
migration (Miescher, 1999). Many of the studies are on Ghanaians in the Netherlands
except the few cases that emphasize on Ghanaians in the UK, Italy and the United
States Initial emigration of Ghanaians to neighbouring West African countries like
Nigeria and Cote D’Ivoire and for economic purposes have not been extensively
studied (Anarfi, 1982; 1989). And with the 1983 expulsion of Ghanaians from Nigeria
came a change in the destinations of Ghanaian migrants. Subsequent out-migration
tended to be geared towards Europe and North America where they formed their
‘diasporic’ status. There seems to be more research work done on Ghanaian migrants
because of institutional collaboration and partnership formed to undertake studies into
the emerging trends and complexities associated with migration in recent times.
Institutions like the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demography Institute and the
Development Research Centre for Migration, Globalisation and Poverty of the UK
and institutions in Ghana like the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic
Research and the Centre for Migration Studies, both in Ghana did and still do some
collaboration research on Ghanaian migrants with funding support from DFID,
MacArthur Foundation and the Netherlands government.
Another dimension of Ghanaian contemporary migration researches is in the area of
intergenerational issues and care of kin and gender relations (see for example
Manuh, 2001: 2006; and Tetteh, 2007), but Meier’s (2005) treatment of social peace
in Ghanaian migration literature appears refreshing for its contribution to Sociology
of Migration. Meier (2005) explores the question of whether rural migrants make
use of the concept of friendship as a means of social integration and for attaining
social peace within two of Ghana urban areas, Accra and Tema and argues that,
instead of committing themselves to intimate personal relationships, many of these
migrants are hesitant to initiate and encourage friendship relations. Indeed the
concept ‘ambivalence’ best describes their postures towards forging friendship
relations. In cases where friendship is forged, many of these migrants choose their
friends ‘from amongst completely unrelated groups, preferably those from different
ethnic backgrounds’ (Meier, 2005:68) for fear of information misuse should they
11
Riccio’s work makes comparison of Ghanaians and Senegalese in Italy
27
make friends with fellow migrants from the same ethnic background etc (see also
Schildkrout, 1970, 1978)
Migration and health is also attracting increasing interest. Badasu (2004) has
presented, under internal migration, child care practices among Ewe ethnic migrants
in the city of Accra in what she describes as ‘cases of crisis of care’. Though these
cases are unique in their own respect, they reflect together, the general situation of
care among migrants and the need to include health perspectives in migration
research.
Researchers and development practitioners have also considered new perspectives in
their research of what was known as ‘brain drain’ especially in the health and
education sectors (Nuro, 2000; Dovlo, 2004). Ghana in the 1970s lost many of her
teachers to Nigeria and in the 1980s also lost her health professionals to developed
economies such as UK and the USA (Anarfi, 1982; Nuro, 2000; Anarfi et al. 2000;
Dovlo, 2004). Initially, there was so much attention on the emigration of such
skilled labour due to the perception that their emigration was a total loss to the
sending countries. Martineau et al. (2004) for instance reviewed what is currently
known as professional migration in the health sector and its impact on health
services in poorer countries including Ghana. Hagopian et al., (2004; 2005) also
situated their work within a similar framework (see also Castaldo, 2007; Dovlo,
2003: 2004). However, Geest et al. (2004) explored what they refer to as a fifth
linkage between migration and old age, by focusing on the immigrants who take on
roles as private care givers and, in effect, replace the children who have emigrated.
After considering the purposes for which many of such skilled labour move out of
their various countries in the developing world, concepts like ‘brain gain’ and ‘brain
circulation’ then emerged in the literature. Though currently, there is not much
information on how many of these have returned, there is anecdotal evidence that
some do return regularly to contribute to the country’s development particularly in
the health sector. In recent years, there have been groups of medical doctors (both
Ghanaian and non-Ghanaian) who have come into the country to undertake major
surgeries/operations either for free or for a token.
28
Women and children’s role in Ghanaian migration, child migration and education
also appear prominent in contemporary Ghanaian migration literature (see Odotei
2000; Wong, 2000; 2006; Opare, 2003; Hashim, 2005; 2006; 2007; Johansen, 2006;
Kwankye et al., 2007). Other studies have focused on migration and the economy of
funerals (Mazzucato et al., 2006), prejudices, integration and exclusion of migrants
(Tonah, 2000; 2003; 2005), migration and poverty (Litchfield and Waddington,
2003), diaspora and drug trafficking (Akyeampong, 2005), race, identity and
citizenship (Akyeampong, 2006), migration, environment and sustainable
development (Braimoh, 2004; Carr, 2005; Nyame and Grant, 2007; Fregene, 2007)
and migrants’ fertility behaviour (White, Tagoe et al., 2005; Gyimah, 2006; Codjoe,
2007).
Some migration research studies in Ghana alluded to some of the theories of
migration and highlighted the emerging trends especially in the area of female
migration at both the internal and international levels. In summary, there is (i) more
emphasis in research on international migration than internal; (ii) female migration
as was conceived to be over short distances and more in a dependent capacity has
evolved to independent migration of females both skilled and unskilled; (iii)
children are still moving and there is an upsurge in their numbers; (iv) there is a
potential for brain circulation for the development of the country.
Key Gaps and Unanswered Questions in Ghanaian
Migration Research
Introduction
Recent events in Ghana show that, interest in immigration issues in the country
could assume higher stakes. The country enjoys political stability, relative peace
and security. More importantly, the country recently struck oil in commercial
quantity in the south western corner. All these factors are pointers of the possibility
of increase in migrant labour, immigration and general foreign presence especially
in the petro-chemical industry in Ghana. As such, migration research in Ghana can
experience renewed interest which is likely to create sophistication in migration
research in terms of themes and issues.
29
Researching Immigrants and Migrant Communities in Ghana
At present, Ghanaian migration research offers very little on immigrants in the
country. Cases of exception however can be made of Liberian migrants (see Cofie,
1998; Morvey, 1992; Tete, 2004), Lebanese migrants (see Akyeampong, 2006) and
Nigerians in the country (Eades, 1993; Antwi Bosiakoh, 2008). In the Liberian case,
the emphasis has been on refugees in the Budumburam Refugees Camp in the Central
Region of Ghana. Are there non-refugee immigrants in Ghana and if so, what are
some of the socio-demographic characteristics of these immigrants in Ghana? One
would also want to find out the activities they are engaged in. These are some of the
research questions that remain to be explored. In the cases of the Lebanese and
Nigerians, more studies also need to be conducted to build enough descriptive and
analytic bases. Antwi Bosiakoh (2008:115) for example observes, in the case of
Nigerian migrations into the country that more studies are needed to assess the
various dimensions of this intra-sub-regional migration’. Two areas are therefore
recommended by Antwi Bosiakoh for future studies of Nigerian migrants in Ghana.
These are 1) the relationship between different migrant associations of the same origin
(Nigeria) in the same destination (Ghana) and 2) the transnational activities of these
migrant associations. To these two we may add the need to construct detailed
demographic characteristics of these migrants. Indeed much of these gaps apply
equally to migrants from Lebanon who are resident in Ghana.
Other African migrants from Niger, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and
Ivory Coast also need to be studied. These studies are needed to help understand the
different dynamics (motivating factors, socio-demographic characteristics)
underlying this intra-regional migration. Much of these migrants are found in the
selling of grains, cola and yams and carrying loads (Clark, 1994: 320) as well as
herbal medicine vending and urban vegetable farming activities among others.
Apart from the African nationals, the presence of Chinese and Indians in the
Ghanaian economy also requires the attention of migration researchers. Since the
1980s, Cubans doctors have delivered medical services to towns and villages in the
country and yet, no studies have been done on their presence in the country. These
30
studies, apart from the mainstream socio-demographic characteristic, could delve
into other issues such as linkages and/or relationships between migrant groups of
different origins, businesses of foreign ownership and immigrants’ contribution to
the Ghanaian economy. Such studies could also focus on the different diaspora
organizations formed in Ghana (including their activities and relevance to the
migrants they serve and the Ghanaian society in general), and how they differ from
Ghanaian diaspora groupings across the world especially in United States, Canada,
the Netherlands and Britain where studies on Ghanaian Diaspora exist.
Migration and the Fortunes of Communities
Research attention may also focus on the role migration plays in the fortunes of
communities in Ghana. For instance, studies into the role of migration in the
creation of ‘ghost towns’ such as Ayanfuri in the Central Region in Ghana would be
interesting to highlight and would answer some questions with respect to the extent
to which it positively or negatively affects the fortunes of the communities.
Migration research is needed in this endeavour with special attention placed on the
south western area of Ghana where oil has recently been discovered, as well as the
Bui dam area, where a major hydro electric power project is being undertaken.
The construction of the Bui Dam and the New Bui Township obviously will induce
migration-related activities including resettlement among others. There is the need to
assess the different migration dynamics, namely relocation, resettlement, passage
difficulties as well as immigrant networks that may result from these industrial and
infrastructural developments. The Frafra resettlement in 1956, the resettlement of the
Tema Fishing Village of Manhean in 1959 and the Volta Resettlement in the early
1960s are resettlement programmes that Ghana has gone through and lessons learnt
could be applied to any similar situation. The Tema Resettlement operations for
instance encountered problems such as immigrant influx (Amarteifio et. al., 1966:
67). Studies on the Volta resettlement also suggest the problem of ‘drift back’ of
resettled persons to set up fishing camps as well as the fear of the newly built town
suffering population decrease as a result of the drift back activities (Kalitsi, 1965:
205).
31
Legal and Institutional Dimensions
Since the coming into being of Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS), the community’s protocol on free movement of people and goods has
attracted significant attention. It has led to movements of people in several ways.
Some of these movements have taken place between neighbouring countries while
others have had to do with countries that do not share borders. In simple terms, the
community’s protocol has fueled cross-border activities. In Ghana, border towns such
as Aflao, Elubo and Sampa show some of these activities including trade. Do these
cross-border activities have something to do with migration, and if so, do they
constitute enough justification for undertaking borderland studies with migration as a
focus?
Gaps in Ghanaian Migration Destinations
In recent times, destinations of Ghanaian emigration have also changed. While
United States and Europe continue to be significant destinations, Middle Eastern
countries such as United Arab Emirates appear to be assuming increasing
significance. Ghanaian migration to China has also assumed a different dimension in
recent times. Anecdotal evidence suggests that, with the growing influence of China
and India in the global market place, these countries have become a source of
attraction for Ghanaian migrants seeking to enter Asia. For now, Ghanaian
migration research does not account for this gap.
Challenges and Prospects of Grey Literature on Migration in
Ghana
In the areas of migration research where studies have already been done, it is also
evident that, much of it remains ‘grey’ as it were, because they have not been
published. As a result, these studies remain largely unknown to migration researchers
outside the country. Even in cases where the studies are known, they remain
inaccessible to researchers both inside and outside the country. Here we are making
reference to undergraduate long essays and project work and postgraduate theses and
other works that have not been published including conference papers. On the basis of
this understanding, one would like to see more of these works published into formats
that would address the inaccessibility challenge and therefore make for wider
32
readership both locally and internationally. This in turn would make for proper
integration of Ghanaian migration literature into the descriptive and analytical
materials as well as theoretical perspectives that account for migration at the global
level.
Ghanaian Migration Policies
Ghana lacks a well defined, well articulated and all encompassing migration policy.
This obviously makes the management of migration difficult. Despite this, Ghanaian
governments, both past and present, have made some efforts towards formulating
policies and programmes to manage migration. In the immediate post independence
period, Ghana pursued a liberal migration policy. The Ghanaian government was then
under the Convention People’s Party led by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. The liberal
migration policy at that time was as a result of the Ghanaian government’s pan-
Africanist ideological orientation and the country’s leadership position in African
unity issues (Dzorgbo, 1998). By the late 1960, this policy orientation had changed. In
1969, the Busia-led government of Ghana promulgated what came to be known as the
Aliens’ Compliance Order to expel over 100,000 aliens (Gould, 1974).
Following this in the 1990s, one of the first policy documents to recognise the role of
migration in Ghana’s development was the revised 1994 National Population Policy
of Ghana. The document observes that Ghana had been transformed from a country of
immigration to a country of emigration. One of the key objectives of the policy was to
seek, among other things, to monitor international migration and to stem the ‘brain-
drain’ of professionals and other skilled people leaving the country.
Aside this, the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) also makes reference
to migration as both positive and negative. The document makes reference to poverty,
vulnerability and exclusion in geographically-remote rural areas, and notes that,
migration of the youth from rural to urban areas as head porters, street hawkers and so
forth have ameliorated what could have been a worse situation than what the statistics
reveal. In addition, the document notes that out-migration from the north is a direct
result of poverty, and calls for policies to address poverty sending areas lest the
migration will continue. The document also highlights issues of emigration of health
sector workers, and the extreme poverty of migrant farm workers.
33
In March 2000, the Government of Ghana signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) with ILO/IPEC to eliminate child labour, focusing on the worst forms which
include recruitment of children for slavery, and all forms of slavery practices such as
the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage, forced or compulsory labour. In
December 2005, the Ghanaian Parliament passed the Human Trafficking Act to serve
as a comprehensive tool in the fight against trafficking in persons, while steps are
being taken to ratify the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime. Ghana has also signed the ECOWAS Declaration and Action Plan Against
Trafficking in Human Beings.
The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), the institution accredited to overseeing in and
out movement of the Ghanaian, has been resourced recently to perform its functions
more efficiently. The Government of Ghana with the assistance of International
Organisation for Migration (IOM) established in 2007, a Migration Unit, currently
based in the Ministry of Interior, to manage migration more effectively and also
maximize the positive effects of migration.
In 2002, the Ghana Dual Citizenship Regulation Act was launched and the Ministry
for Tourism and Diasporan Relations established in 2004. These were to enhance
access to the contribution of Ghanaian international migrants while meeting some
their needs. A Non-Resident Ghanaians Secretariat (NRGS) was set up in May 2003
to promote further links with Ghanaians abroad and to encourage their return to
Ghana. In recent times, Ghana has passed both the dual citizenship law and the
Representation of People Amendment Act (ROPAA). Implementation of these
legislations however is not immediately possible and will involve processes that may
be too complex to immediately take effect. Institutional arrangements both at home
and abroad will have to be put in place and capacity building and sensitization will
have to be done to ensure the expected outcome.
Conclusion
An overview of Ghanaian migration literature thus indicates the diversity, complexity
and dynamic nature of Ghanaian migration experiences. Pre-dating colonial times,
34
migration in Ghana has undergone multifaceted dynamic processes and is still
experiencing that dynamism with a complexity of migration trends. In colonial times,
migration in Ghana was mainly internal, with very little international migration. The
situation however changed after independence. Government policies and pan-
Africanist ideologies particularly of the CPP government induced some level of
migration. This was however cut short by the promulgation of the Aliens’ Compliance
Order in 1969. Following this, a series of socio-economic and political convolutions
in the 1970s and 1980s led to a period of mass emigration of Ghanaians to African
countries and the world at large, a process which has made Ghana one of the ten
countries that have produced and are involved in producing a ‘new diaspora’ in recent
times (Van Hear, 1998)..This highlights the importance of situating current migration
patterns and practices within a historical context for a better understanding of the
dynamics.
The overview thus indicates that current migration dynamics in Ghana can be
described as a Janus-faced. While out migration of Ghanaians deprived the country of
important human capital, return migration brings with it knowledge, expertise and
skills valuable for the socio-economic development of the country. Current migration
challenges which has potential to impact on Ghana’s development include issues of
transnationalism, return migration and feminization of migration.
The overview also identifies research gaps including research on immigrants in
Ghana, the role of migration in the fortunes of communities, as well as changing
dynamics of destinations and the inaccessibility of grey literature, and methodological
and theoretical issues.. It also identifies stakeholders in Ghanaian migration research
and migration research networks and academic links.
The absence of a holistic migration policy in Ghana which will take into account the
multifaceted nature of migration and also incorporate migration into the development
agenda, serves as a drawback to efforts to manage migration in Ghana. The
formulation of a comprehensive migration policy in Ghana should take on board the
reality of migrants’ agency, factors that push people to migrate, feminization of
migration and trends that will impact positively on the implementation. Funding
support should be budgeted for to ensure effective implementation.
35
This paper has highlighted the need for more and better empirical studies, as well as large scale surveys
grounded in historical analysis which will include long term analytical perspectives. The availability of
such data will improve our understanding of migration dynamics and assist in Ghana’s national
development planning efforts.
36
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Appendix ONE:
Stakeholders in Migration Research and Development
in Ghana and Beyond
Migration research and development involves many actors and stakeholders because
of the varying implications it has on various sectors of the economy. It involves
academia especially researchers, both governmental and non-governmental
organisations, policy makers, development practitioners and civil society. Below are
some of the academic centres and institutions that deal with migration research and
migration-related issues in Ghana and on the African continent. Some details of what
these institutions are into, their ongoing projects on migration and any collaboration
with other institutions are outlined below.
The Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana, Legon
The Centre was established officially in 2006 at the University of Ghana to undertake
research, teaching, training, capacity building, policy assessment, development and
dissemination of migration information. Specifically, the Centre is to coordinate past
and current research activities on migration by faculties, departments, institutes and
other centres and undertake migration related research from a multidisciplinary
approach among others. It is currently collaborating with the International Migration
Institute at the University of Oxford and undertaking the African Perspectives on
Human Mobility Project. This is a 3-year project with funding support from the
MacArthur Foundation to examine, among others, the mobility patterns of different
generations of traders from Ghana to destinations in the Middle and the Far East and
the role of transnationalism in the livelihood of these traders. The Centre also
collaborates with the Institute of Social Studies, the Hague, Radboud University,
Nijmegen, University of Amsterdam, the University of Sussex and is also part of the
Network of Migration Researchers in Africa. (www.cmsgh.org or www.ug.edu.gh)
The Centre for Migration Studies is also a partner institution involved in the
Migration between Africa and Europe (MAFE) Project. This is a research project
running from 2007 to 2012 in which a large-scale matched sample survey will be
conducted amongst migrant households in Senegal, Congo and Ghana and their
respective migrants in France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK. The
52
basic hypothesis of the project is that international migrations are not simply
unidirectional flows between sending and receiving countries that respond to
economic or demographic differentials between the two. Therefore, the project aims
at tracing the changing patterns of African migrations to and from Europe, identifying
the determinants of these migratory patterns and studying the socio-economic effects
of such migrations at the individual, family and societal levels. (www.fmg.uva.nl)
The Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of
Ghana
The Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) and the Regional
Institute of Population Studies (RIPS) both of the University of Ghana, jointly host
the Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalization and Poverty in Ghana.
Other partners of the Development Research Centre (DRC) are the University of
Sussex, UK, the American University in Cairo, Egypt, the Refugee and Migratory
Movements Research Unit in Bangladesh and Centre for Economic and Social Studies
in Albania. ISSER and RIPS are currently involved in the Re-integration of Return
Migrants in the North-south Independent Child Migration in Ghana Project. This
project seeks to assess the extent to which return migrants succeed in re-integrating
themselves into the economy and their community upon their return. Some of the
research questions are what resources do child migrants return with, which sectors of
the home economy are they engaged in and what are their obligations to family and
household members? What are the challenges facing the return migrant’s reintegration
into the home community and how do they vary from their non-migrant counterparts
in terms of socio-economic progress? This project is part of the sub-projects that
started in 2003 with funding from DFID under the Migration DRC and is ongoing and
due to be completed in March 2009. Another ongoing project under the Centre is the
Portability, Access and Reciprocity: Social Protection Regimes for Migrants Project
which aims at a better understanding of the interactions between migration and social
protection in order to inform initiatives that can create ‘mobile’ systems of social
protection. Additionally, this project also seeks to find ways for enabling social
protection entitlements to follow the migrant rather than being linked to employment
categories of places of residence. (www.migrationdrc.org)
Regional Institute of Population Studies (RIPS), University of Ghana
53
Apart from its joint project with ISSER under the Development Research Centre on
Migration, Globalisation and Poverty, the Regional Institute of Population Studies
(RIPS) is currently undertaking a 2-year migration project with funding support from
the Global Development Network (GDN) and the Institute for Public Policy Research
(IPPR). This project called ‘Development on the Move: Measuring and Optimising
International Migration’s Economic and Social Impacts in Ghana’ aims at assessing
the scale of international migration and how it affects life in Ghana. It is part of the
main GDN ‘Development on the Move’ Project which also involves the following
countries: Colombia, Fiji, Georgia, Macedonia and Vietnam. Data will be collected
from the following target groups/household: absentee migrants, returned migrants,
both absent and returned migrants, immigrants and non-migrant households in these
countries. In addition to the household survey, a stakeholder analysis will be done by
engaging with institutions and organizations (both governmental and non-
governmental) that work with migrants or are involved in migration-related activities.
This project is expected to be completed by the end of 2009.
Other Institutions and Departments at the University
The Institute of African Studies (IAS), the Department of Geography and Resource
Development and the Department of Sociology, all of the University of Ghana also
from time to time, are in involved in migration research particularly as individual
researchers. Many of these are working with the Centre for Migration Studies. There
are individual researchers in institutions in other universities such as the Kwame
Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the University of Cape Coast.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) involvement in migration is
mainly through technical and funding support to institutions and organizations that
conduct migration research like the Centre for Migration Studies or are engaged in
migration-related issues in Ghana. Technical support comes in the form of vehicles
and laptops for projects on migration.
Ghana Statistical Service
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) is the officially recognized source for all
government data and has the flagship of producing the Ghana Living Standard
54
Survey. This survey, which is conducted every five (5) years to assess the living
conditions of Ghanaians, has some questions related to migration in session 5 of the
survey instrument. Five rounds of this survey have been conducted with the latest in
2005/2006.
Bank of Ghana Research Department
Apart from the monthly remittances’ figures, the Bank of Ghana is currently
undertaking a Private Capital Flow Project. This project seeks to ascertain how much
capital private companies and businesses in Ghana get as loans from outside the
country to invest in their businesses back home. This database is expected to be
updated on an annual basis and is nationwide in scope.
Ministry of Interior
The Ministry of Interior has established a Migration Bureau at the Ministry as its
contribution to Ghana’s economic and social development. The Ministry hopes to
provide key support to the Government of Ghana’s efforts to better integrate
migration into development planning with the establishment of the Bureau. The
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) assisted the Bureau with office
equipment like computers (desktop and laptop), printers, fax machine, and a
photocopier.
Ghana Immigration Service
The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) control the borders of the country and have
data on almost all who come in and go out of the country either through the airport or
land borders. Computerized data or information on arrivals and departures through
the major points of entry namely Kotoka International Airport, Aflao, Elubo and Paga
are available at their Management Information Systems Department. Currently, the
Ghana Immigration Service is the host institution for the Aeneas Project which seeks
to check document fraud.
55
Appendix TWO:
Migration Research Networks and Academic Links in
Africa and the World
Research networks are an important means of promoting the exchange of existing data
and studies and allow for collaboration among interested institutions in the areas of
research, training and capacity building. These cut across disciplinary, geographic
and linguistic boundaries and their effective use can help avoid the duplication of
efforts and promote the efficient use of limited resources for academic purposes
particularly research. Migration researchers stand to benefit greatly from such
networks particularly with the online access they get, thus overcoming the
accessibility challenge. A detailed look at the situation in Ghana shows the near
absence of research networks focusing on migration. There is however quite a number
of individual migration researchers in the country in the various universities working
individually and recently, at the inter-faculty level through the efforts of the Centre
for Migration Studies of the University of Ghana, which brought them together into
working groups to deal with migration issues.
There are institutions or centres which are also in partnership with other academic
institutions in the developed countries especially the UK and are into migration
research. A typical example is the Development Research Centre on Migration,
Globalisation and Poverty which is based in the University of Sussex and has its
partner institutions as ISSER and RIPS identifying interesting migration research
issues peculiar to Ghana. At the sub-regional level, there are not many research
networks as is also the case at the continental level. A list of the existing migration
research networks both in and outside Africa is provided below with links.
The Network of Migration Research in Africa (NOMRA) is a collaborative association
of researchers and scholars interested in and working on migration, especially
international migration, in the region. The overall aim of the Network is to build a
regional migration research network and research capacity to carry out cross-national,
multidisciplinary and innovative research on socio-cultural, economic and political
aspects of international migration in the region in order to advance knowledge on
migration dynamics and policymaking in the region. The NOMRA disseminates
56
migration-related information and significant news items etc through its biannual
newsletter. The second and latest edition in April 2008 provided information on the
upcoming Inaugural Scientific Conference, a roll call of successful NOMRA research
laureates whose study findings would be presented at the September 2008 Conference
as well as updates on the proposed annual African Migration Report which the
Network hope to produce by the end of 2008. The NOMRA Secretariat is based in
Nigeria. (www.nomra.org)
The African Migration Alliance (AMA) is a network initiative made up of scholars and
researchers working on migration across Africa. It is conceived as a forum that
contributes to gather more complete and high-quality data on migration in Africa and
develop a more comprehensive research initiative. A steering committee of
representatives from the four major African sub-regions has been established to
oversee the proceedings and to plan and raise funds for extending the network which
is currently based in the Human Science Research Council in South Africa. The
AMA undertook the South African Migration Project. (www.hrsc.ac.za)
The Network of Surveys on Migration and Urbanisation in West Africa
(NESMUWA)
12
was created in 1989 and carried out an important survey in 1993 in
seven countries namely Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger
and Senegal and this was coordinated by the CERPOD (Centre d’Etudes et de
Recherche sur la Population et pour le Développement) in collaboration with IRD
(Institut francais de recherché scientifique pour le développement en cooperation),
CEPED (Centre francais d’Etudes sure la Population et le Développement) and the
Demography Department of the University of Montreal
International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion (IMISCOE) is a network of
excellence uniting 23 established European research institutes and over 500
researchers from all European countries and of all branches of the economic and
social sciences, the humanities and law in pursuit of studies under the themes of
International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion. The Network implements
an integrated, multidisciplinary, rigorously comparative research programme with
12
Also known as REMUAO (Reseau Migrations et Urbanisation en Afrique de l’Ouest)
57
Europe as its central fous. Specifically, it concentrates on the spatial movement,
voluntary or forced, of persons across political borders as a process, together with its
causes and consequences. It also focuses on the process of settlement and integration
of immigrants and their descendants in the society of destination and the
consequences this has for the receiving society. In addition to research, IMISCOE
organizes training in these areas and disseminate research results to the public at large
and specifically to policy makers. www.imiscoe.org. Some of the partner institutes are
the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies (IMES), University of Amsterdam
www.imes.uva.nl and the Sussex Centre for Migration Research (SCMR) University
of Sussex www.sussex.ac.uk
Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) was
established as a Pan-African research organization in 1973 with a primary focus on
the social sciences, broadly defined. It is recognized as the apex non-governmental
centre of social knowledge production on the continent and has individual as well as
institutional members. It also does training and research and publication and the
dissemination of these researches in journals and also online.
Appendix THREE:
Other Institutions Involved in Migration Research
Other institutions and organisations are very much interested in migration research for
varying reasons. A review by Olesen (2002) of the extent to which a range of
international development institutions and organisations are concerned about
migration showed that the World Bank and the United Nations Development
Programme are concerned about the remittances associated with migration while
organisations like International Organisation for Migration (IOM), United Nations
Economic Commission for Africa and the IMF are interested in the reversing of the
‘brain drain’ with the return of skilled nationals. Through its capacity-building
programme, Migration for Development in Africa (MIDA), IOM helps mobilize
competencies acquired by African nationals abroad for the benefit of Africa’s
development. This is more at the international level than local. However, at the local
level, IOM also deals with the freeing of trafficked children in parts of the country
58
particularly the fishing communities along the Volta Lake. There are also non-
governmental organisations like ACTIONAID and the Catholic Relief Organisation
which are also considered stakeholders in migration and development by virtue of
their efforts at training migrants in the urban centres and street children in Ghana. The
National Development Planning Commission and the National Population Council are
also stakeholders in issues of migration and development.
Appendix FOUR:
Researchers on Migration in Ghana
NAME INSTITUTION E-MAIL
Prof. Takyiwaa Manuh Institute of African Studies,
University of Ghana
takyiwaa@gmail.com
Prof. John Kwesi Anarfi Institute of Statistical, Social and
Economic Research, University of
Ghana
jkanarfi@yahoo.com
Naa Prof. John Nabila Department of Geography and
Resource Development, University
of Ghana
Prof. N. O. Addo
Prof. Alex Asiedu Department of Geography and
Resource Development, University
of Ghana
abasiedu@yahoo.com
Prof. Agyei Mensah Department of Geography and
Resource Development, University
of Ghana
samensah@ug.edu.gh
Dr. Mariama Awumbila Centre for Migration
Studies/Department of Geography
and Resource Development,
University of Ghana
mawumbil@ug.edu.gh
Dr. Peter Quartey Centre for Migration
59
Studies/Institute of Statistical,
Social and Economic Research,
University of Ghana
pquartey@ug.edu.gh
Dr. Stephen Owusu
Kwankye
Regional Institute for Population
Studies, University of Ghana
kwankyeso@hotmail.com
Dr. Osman Alhassan Institute of African Studies,
University of Ghana
aosman@ug.edu.gh
Dr. Frank Nyame Department of Geology,
University of Ghana
fnyame@ug.edu.gh
Dr. Akosua Darkwah Sociology Department, University
of Ghana
akosuadarkwah@gmail.com
Dr. Rudith King Kwame Nkrumah University of
Science and Technology, Ghana
rudith@yahoo.com
Dr. Dzodzi Tsikata Institute of Statistical, Social and
Economic Research, University of
Ghana
dzodzit@yahoo.com
dtsikata@ug.edu.gh
Dr. Felix Anebo Department of Political Science,
University of Ghana
fkganebo@ug.edu.gh
Dr. Joseph A. Yaro Department of Geography and
Resource Development, University
of Ghana
yarojoe@hotmail.com
Dr. Yao Gebe Legon Centre for International
Affairs (LECIA), University of
Ghana
yaogebe@ug.edu.gh
Dr. Mrs. Budu Department of Food and Nutrition,
University of Ghana
asbudu@ug.edu.gh
Dr. Owuraku Sakyi-
Dawson
Department of Agricultural
Extension, University of Ghana
osakyid@ug.edu.gh
Dr. Thomas Akabzaa Department of Geology,
University of Ghana
takabzaa@ug.edu.gh
Mr. Augustine Tanle University of Cape Coast augtanle@yahoo.com
Mrs. M. Dela Badasu Regional Institute for Population
Studies, University of Ghana
dbadasu@ug.edu.gh
60
Mr. Richard Asante Institute of African Studies,
University of Ghana
richasagh@yahoo.com
Mrs. Cynthia
Addoquaye Tagoe
University of Ghana candy_tagoe@yahoo.com
Mr. Thomas Antwi
Bosiakoh
University of Ghana bosiakoh@yahoo.com
Mr. John Agyei University of Ghana avincgh@yahoo.com
Dr. John Akokpari University of Cape Town, South
Africa
John.Akokpari@uct.ac.za
Dr. Valentina
Mazzucato
University of Amsterdam, The
Netherlands
v.mazzucato@uva.nl
Dr. Madeleine Wong St. Lawrence University, United
States of America
mwong@stlawu.edu
