4.7 Discussion
4.7.2 Economic Reasons
Independent female migration has become a major survival strategy in response to deepening poverty to augment meagre family income (Yaro, 2008). A study conducted among 213 Kayayei in Accra by Shamsu-Deen (2015) found out that over two-thirds of the respondents (64.8 %) migrated to Accra to look for money. The present study where the economic factor is noted to be the main factors that influence migration flow supports the view by Castelli (2018) that environmental and socio-economic may contribute to both internal and international migration, and mainly out of control of individuals. The implication of this is that the Kayayei might not have a better option than to migrate to the Accra the capital city that offers the chance of getting a better job with high wages, good health care, and strong educational systems as indicated by Simpson (2017).
In this study, the Kayayei leave their villages and travel to Accra seeking for a better life so they could send remittances to their relatives in the northern part of Ghana to alleviate their poverty. This finding is consistent with the argument by Orozco (2013) that remittances represent the central economic activity of migrants. This finding is also in agreement with this study's conceptual framework, which indicated that interpersonal level factors, in this case, the need to support family, constitute a vital goal in the decision by Kayayei to migrate to the city.
99 By so doing the Kayayei help in improving the household’s income and indirectly reduce poverty. Family remittances are savings that Kayayei transfer to their families to cover the regular up-keep of their households (Hagen-Zanker, 2015; Orozco, 2013). Due to the level of poverty of the families, the money sent by the Kayayei constitutes a major income for these families. This further confirms a study by Lokshin, Bontch‐Osmolovski, and Glinskaya (2010) which noted that one‐fifth of the poverty reduction in developing countries is due to increased number of migrants who send remittances home. This implies that the delay or the failure of the migrant to send these monies at the expected time could exacerbate the suffering of these families who have many mouths to feed each day. According to Straubhaar and Vâdean (2006), the frequency of remittances by a migrant depends on the amount of money they earn and the savings from that income and mostly on the willingness or the motivation of the migrants to remit their hard-earned savings back home. The present study found that the Kayayei earn an average of about fifteen Ghana Cedis a day (GHS 15), which is about 3 US Dollars ($3) (at the time of data collection in 2017). Their income is therefore inadequate to take care of themselves before remitting to their families back home.
These findings imply that if the necessary reform programmes and policies are instituted by the government to protect and facilitate better working conditions and remuneration of the Kayayei, the remittances sent regularly to their poor family living in the less economically developed part of the country could help the country to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) One (United Nations, 2015). Goal one is one of the 17 goals that require the reduction at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in extreme poverty in all its dimensions in accordance with the national capacity by 2030. It also has a target to ensure that the vulnerable in society have equal rights and access to economic and basic services, support people that have been affected by climate-related events, disasters, and environmental and social shocks. The SDGs were adopted by all the states in the UN in 2015 as a universal call to action to alleviate poverty and to protect the planet by the year 2030 (Carter et al., 2018; Griggs et al., 2013; Kenny, 2015; Sachs, 2012).
Another economic reason that forces the young Kayayei to migrate is their ambition to further their education. The study noted that younger women who have completed the basic education successfully but due to poverty could not continue, decide to leave their villages and travel to the city (Accra) to work and to save money and then to go back to school to further their education. This finding supports the view by Dako-Gyeke (2016) that migrants leave their
100 homes and travel to a new destination with the desire to further their education through self- financing. Before the introduction of free education at the senior high school level by the Government of Ghana in 2017 (Abdul-Rahaman, Rahaman, Ming, Ahmed, & Salma, 2018), families needed to pay for everything from fees, dormitory costs to the uniforms before their ward could be accepted in any of the secondary schools either private or public. This situation puts a strain on family income, especially on the poor households (Asumadu, 2019). The implication of this is that children from poor families that could not afford to pay for their education drop out of school and follow other paths such as migrating to the city. Those who have not chosen to migrate end up on the streets, with some of them engaging in antisocial behaviour such as prostitution, armed robbery, and substance abuse (Asante, 2015; Bender, Ferguson, Thompson, & Langenderfer, 2014).
The study also revealed that the dream of a future business or entrepreneurship pushes young women to migrate to Accra. Establishing a new business in the rural area involves a minimum amount of capital and getting this amount is never easy for most people coming from villages where the major economic activity is farming. Farming in the rural setting of Ghana is basically for household consumption. This implies that the only possibility available for these women to achieve their ambition of starting a new business is to migrate to Accra where they can work and save money. This is in accordance with the study by Démurger, and Xu (2011) that argues that migration experience may enhance financial capital, and thus enable individuals to set up their own businesses upon return. The finding of the current study also supports the findings by Sinatti (2011) which noted that migrants migrate intending to accumulate money in the host destination and return home to set up a local business from which family and relatives can benefit from the profit. The implication of this is that the income will contribute to the economic development of the region and improve the living standard of the populaces of the region which was known for its poor economic development. This is also supported by a study by Klagge, and Klein-Hitpaß (2010) which argues that the migrants will return to their home countries may bring financial capital with some becoming small skill investors and entrepreneurs who contribute to the economic development of their region. It therefore implies that when these investments by migrants in their hometown continue in the same trajectory, it could help the country in achieving its SDG target by 2030.
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