Excerpt
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
LIST OF TABLES PAGES
LIST OF FIGURES PAGES
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
1.2 Problem Statement
1.3 Research Question
1.4 Measurable Objectives
1.5 Propositions
1.6 Rationale For The Study
1.7 Organisation Of The Study
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Definition of migration
2.3.0 Migrants
2.3.1 In-migration
2.3.2 Out-migration
2.3.3 Gross migration
2.3.4 Net internal migration
2.3.5 Net migration
2.3.6 Return migration
2.4. Definition of Impact
2.5 Definition of Assessment
2.5.1 Migration Assessment
2.6 Overview of migration
2.7 Population movement
2.8 History of migration
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Research Design
3.3 Population of the study area
3.4 Sample and sampling techniques
3.5 Instruments for data collection
3.5.1. Procedure for administration of instruments
3.6 Data analysis
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION
4.1 Introduction
4.2.0 Distribution of respondents according to background characteristics
4.2.1. Migration Processes
4.3.0 Migrants duration of stay
4.3.2 Pull Factors
4.3.3 Migrants Current job
4.4.0 Amount earned monthly
4.4.1 Monthly Savings
4.4.2 Access to electricity
4.4.3 Access to water at home
4.4.4 Purpose of sending money at home
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Summary of the findings
5.2.1 Conditions of migrants in Wenchi
5.2.2 Factors Improving Wellbeing
5.3 Conclusions
5.4 Recommendations
REFERENCES
ABSTRACT
Migration is one of the aspects of human phenomenon that is keen to the designing of policies and programmes of development of any given country. The main aim of the study was to examine the causes of in-migration in the Wenchi municipality, the socio-economic conditions of migrants, benefits and side effects of migration in Wenchi and to bring out suggestions and recommendation on the management of migration in the municipality. In order to attain a reliable research, both the qualitative and the quantitative research methods were employed. The qualitative method was used to survey the entire municipality to determine the possible causes of migration and migrants’ livelihood. The quantitative method was used to collect in-depth information about the problems at hand. The data was from both primary and secondary sources. The primary source entailed self-administered questionnaires, while the secondary source was from articles, publications and projects in relation to the research topic. The study revealed that, most migrants come into Wenchi for educational purposes. It also brought out that most migrants have good access to some basic facilities such as access to portable drinking water and a good access to electricity. In order to ensure that natives get access to good work doing, the stake holders of the town should try to introduce some youth empowerment programmes in the town so as to bridge the gap between natives and migrants.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
My deepest appreciation goes to the Almighty God for His protection, wisdom, knowledge, understanding and strength throughout my years of study and particularly for this work.
Secondly, my utmost gratitude goes to my supervisor, Dr. Joseph K. Teye (Lecturer at the Department of Geography and Resource Development and Coordinator of Postgraduate Studies, Centre for Migration Studies ), University of Ghana for his wonderful assistance, objective criticism and direction in producing this work. He was an inspiration to me in producing this work.
My appreciation also goes to all the Lecturers of the Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana, for their guidance and knowledge imparted into me during my stay on campus.
Finally, I wish to extend my thanks to my uncle, all friends and course mates whose constant support in different ways had immensely helped me to come this far with my project work.
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Projected population of Wenchi (2010-2013)
Table 2: Respondents and their ages
Table 3: Gender of respondents
Table 4: Respondents’ levels of education
Table 5: Migrants’ duration of stay in Wenchi
Table 6: Intension of migrants returning home
Table 7: Monthly income of migrants
LIST OF FIGURES PAGES
Figure { SEQ Figure \* ARABIC }: Migrants duration of stay
Figure { SEQ Figure \* ARABIC }: Migrants’ source region
Figure 3: Pull factors
Figure 4: Monthly income of migrants
Figure 5: Monthly savings
Figure 6: Access to electricity
Figure 7: Access to water at home
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
Population mobility is probably the statistics of human population process that has received the most attention within the field of environment that studies human population in recent times (Adamo, 2008).It is a fact that anything that exists in our world has its point of origin. Therefore it is an incontestable fact that no society can escape its past. The past either willingly or unwillingly is part of the future. So in order to ensure a promising future for the development of Wenchi there is the need to assess the impact of migration development in the town in order to situate it in the current dispensation of population movement.
Migration is most at times defined as a kind of spatial movements comprising the replacement of familiar residential area within a defined geographical location (Ghana Statistical Service- September, 2008). For instance, migration is a vital determinant in population change by influencing birth rates through altering the proportions of women in childbearing ages in the population. In the same vein, migration can also affect the characteristics of the labour force of the areas of origin and destination.
The composite budget of the Wenchi municipal assembly 2012, gives details to the position of the municipality. It pointed out the location of the place as situated in the Western part of the Brong Ahafo Region. “It is bordered to the South by the Sunyani Municipal Assembly and to the North by Kintampo South District Assembly. It also shares a common boundary with Tain District Assembly and the Techiman Municipal Assembly to the West”. The study area lies within the latitudes 7°27N and 8°30N and the longitudes 1°30N and 2°36W (Wonongnaa et al, 2013). The Wenchi Municipality occupies an area of 7,619.7 square kilometers and a population density of 5-20 persons per square kilometer as said by Wonongnaa et al (2013).
The study is going to look at the dispensation of migration in the Wenchi municipality. It will also look at the location of the town and how its geographical situation can either aid or inhibit population movement. It will seek to know the type of people engaged in migration, the sex of most migrants, age, reasons for the migration, and the effects of the act on the socio-economic lifestyle of the people of Wenchi. It will also look at whether these migrants migrate temporarily or permanently, and also the condition that may prevail especially if the migrant was or is having a responsibility in the family before leaving. Even though the population of the town keeps rising yearly, migration also is not on the break. The data below shows the trend of population in the municipality. With the support of the Ghana Statistical Service, the Municipal Assembly estimated a population of 102,175 for the year 2010. Table 1 shows the projected population figures of Wenchi Municipal Assembly from 2010– 2013, given an intercensal growth rate of 2.5 percent.
Table 1: Projected Population (2010-2013)
Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten
Source: Projections from Population and Housing Census Report, 2000
The total surface area of the town is about 16 square kilometers. The major routes into the town are Wa – Bamboi Road from the North, Kumasi – Techiman Road from the south, Ofuman Road from the East and the Nsawkaw – Badu Road from the West.
1.2 Problem Statement
Migration has been a cultural activity of humans since time immemorial. People have been moving from their residence to other destinations with several reasons.
In Ghana, several hundreds of migrants are always observed which include both internal and international migrants. A recent Human Development Report estimated that the total estimated number of internal migrants is about four times the total number of international migrants (UNDP 2009). Migration has become very rampant phenomenon throughout the districts and municipalities of Ghana of which Wenchi is not an exception. In the olden days, it hosted the only Ghana Commercial Bank in the region where workers throughout the region converge to cash out their salaries. This made Wenchi to be the heart of the region.
Notwithstanding the developmental infrastructure that still exist; the town has become a silent one due to migration. Siddiqui (2012, p.5) stated that, “for poor people, especially when pre-existing social networks are strong, or when incomes are higher compared to those in the areas of origin, people are likely to move”.Katseli (2006) explains that Migration is not determined solely by inequality of income between the source and destination but on the contrary, it is appreciated by geographical closeness and historical joints such as sharing of common language.
Most people have been migrating to several nearby places of Wenchi such as Techiman, Kumasi, and Sunyani and to the capital city, Accra. This process has brought the town down in terms of development. This critical review of the existing evidence leads to a discussion of interlinkages between movement of people and other “policy domains” including trade, investment and development assistance and addresses policy challenges to better manage migration and maximise the net gains for both sending and receiving countries (Katseli et al,2006:59).The municipal Population and Demographic Characteristics (2004), in an attempt to distinguish sex distribution in the town, states that in 1984, males were around 51.5%. It also brought that, the male population has now reduced to 49.36%. The statistics further explained that the reduction in the male population may be explained by higher migration and also high male mortality in the municipality. The statistics also indicated that it is only Wenchi that is an urban community in the municipality, but with time, there is the likelihood that other areas such as Tromeso, Subinso No. 2 and Nchira may be urbanized by the end of the year 2015. But the implications are that there is much pressure on the infrastructure services in Wenchitown.
This can bring about imbalance in the sense that, while most males engage in migration, many female are left to put pressure on the existing amenities in the town. Even though the population is a youthful one, the labour force, which comprises many males, is reduced due to migration and this can slow down development. Geest 2011 stated that, within the immediate term migrating out of a place helps to food and livelihood security in the home area, but in the long run it seems to hinder a transformation to be able to adequately sustain land use, issues of livelihoods and a destruction to rural development. If so, then Wenchi has been suffering from underdevelopment for a long period of time since the fall of its active workforce as a result of migration.
This is an evidence to show that the population of Wenchi is declining due to migration. On the contrary, Vander Geest 2011 found that, the town has actually had the largest proportion of Dagara migrants according to the population census in 2000.
This can be a dicey situation in the sense that, whilst people are said to be migrating from the town, many are recorded to be migrating to the town.
1.3 Research Question
1. Why are people migrating into the Wenchi Municipality?
2. Why are people going out of Wenchi Municipality?
3. What recommendations should be made for policies and actions on the management of migration in the Wenchi Municipality?
1.4 Measurable Objectives
The main objective of this study is to assess the impact of migration in the Wenchi Municipality. Specifically, the research will seek to:
1. Identify the causes of in-migration in the Wenchi municipality.
2. Examine the conditions of migrants in Wenchi
3. Describe the benefits and side effects of migration in Wenchi.
4. Make recommendations for policies and actions on the management of migration in the Wenchi Municipality.
1.5 Propositions
Unemployment constitutes a major cause of migration in the Wenchi municipality.
1.6 Rationale For The Study
The study hopes to find out if unemployment is the actual factor causing population movement in the Wenchi municipality and to propose vital suggestions as to how to ensure its effectiveness without causing harm to both the source and the destination area.
The study will also look at some of the setbacks the people of Wenchi are facing due to migration. The study will provide information to local, regional and national policy makers as to the need to establish adequate measures in dealing with issues resulting from migration.It will again broaden or increase the knowledge base of both the readers and the researchers about the importance of assessing migration in their respective localities. Lastly the study will also serve as a source of referencing material when needed and also serve as a good material for further studies.
1.7 Organisation Of The Study
The study has been organized in five chapters. The first chapter outlines the general information of the study. This includes introduction of the study, problem statement,research question, objectives, rational for the study and organization of the study. The second chapter contains the background of the research area and the methodology, which shows how the study is going to be conducted. The third and fourth chapters will contain results of the research and discussions also tackled on thematic headings and sub-headings which are aimed at adequately answering research questions and objectives. The fifth chapter will entail the conclusion to the study, summary and recommendations for the study, and also followed by references and appendices.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
This chapter talks about some literatures that are useful when it comes to assessment of migration. The main purpose is to highlight the concerns useful to the successful completion of this research. This chapter defines some terms such as migration, impact assessment, and some types of migration.
2.2 Definition of migration
National Geographic Society (2005) describes migration as the process where by people move from one place to another to stay either on permanent or temporal basis. It also emphasized on the condition at which the people may move with - voluntarily (voluntary migration) or involuntary - (forced migration). It also indicated that the first human groups to have migrated were from the eastern part of Africa. It was also explained into detail by Nafissatou Sidibe (2000) as the geographic or spatial movement comprising a relatively permanent transformational exchange in original place of stay between clearly defined space and time. Migration is therefore the willing or unwilling movement of people from their place of residence to a clearly defined political, statistical or geographical area within space and time.
2.3.0 Migrants
People who move from their places of residence to another are termed as migrants. Migrants on the other hand put to use several exploitations in the destination region so as to achieve their goal for migration because the little income they may not allow them to plan for another migration (Amanor, 1993).
2.3.1 In-migration
People coming into an area from another place within a nation (internal migration).
2.3.2 Out-migration
People moving out of one place to another place within a nation (internal migration).
2.3.3 Gross migration
This is the total number of in-migrants and out-migrants (internal migration).
2.3.4 Net internal migration
This is the difference between in-migration and out-migration.
2.3.5 Net migration
The difference between net internal migration and movers from abroad.
2.3.6 Return migration
The Human Migration Guide (2005) defines return migration as the movement of people to their areas of origin in a voluntary manner. According to the Migration Guide (2005:2), it is also known as “circular migration”
2.4. Definition of Impact
The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2003) defines impact as the influence an object has on something. Migration therefore has got several impacts on migrants, the source and the destination. When people move from place to place they make adjustments in their personal and sociocultural lives. It is difficult to ascertain the true social or economic benefits of their mobility. Several elements affect the breakdown of merits and costs involved when people migrate from a place to another location Tika Ram Gautam (2006).
2.5 Definition of Assessment
It is the process in which a judgment is made about a person or a situation.
2.5.1 Migration Assessment
Several people engage themselves in migration from one form to another in the world. According to Muniz (2005:2), if all migrants were to be grouped at one particular place, they would have formed the “sixth largest country” on earth. This shows that migration is at the increase day in day out. Migration assessment would therefore aid us know much about why the increase in migration and prediction could be probably given; whether it should be encouraged or not.
2.6 Overview of migration
Migration occurs in different forms. The National Geographic Society, under the Human Migration Guide (6-8) (2005) brought different types of migration. It cited migration to be a process that happens in a heterogeneous form. It therefore outlined the types as: intercontinental- movement of people between continents, intracontinental- movement of people to different countries within the same continent, and interregional- thus movement of people from a town to another in the same countries. It furthermore emphasized on another pattern of migration termed as ‘rural to urban migration’- which is the migration of people from the village to a city in a country.
-Emigration is the going out of people from their towns of birth to other places. This place of their birth is popularly called the source region (origin).
-Immigration is where people come into a place which is not their place of birth. This place is mostly known as the destination.
In a clear looking, migration can be approached from several different angles. Since it is a process that involves human activities, several conditions can easily affect or prompt its occurrence such as forced migration which is involuntary. Voluntary migration is seen to be somehow much effective since the migrant him/herself has the consent to go either for educational, employment or business among other purposes. With this migration type, the migrant may comfortably return to his/her source if conditions at the destination are not favourable. This is contrary to involuntary migration, where a person might have escaped from an outmoded cultural practice and may not wish to return.
Migration is therefore the willing or unwilling movement of people from their place of residence to a clearly defined political, statistical or geographical area within space and time.
The diagram below shows the clear picture and distinction between the two terms.
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Siddiqui (2012) contended on the movement of internal migrants which he classified as rural to rural, rural to urban, urban to urban, as well as urban to rural flows. The period of migration can both be short and long term.
-Rural to Urban migration: Gimba and Kumshe (2011) defined Rural-Urban migration as the movement of people from villages to cities.
-Urban to Rural migration: This is the direct opposite of rural - urban migration. It is whereby people move from cities to villages to stay either permanently or temporary.
-Urban to Urban migration: This is the situation where people move from one urban center (city) to another city.
-Rural to Rural migration: This is also the movement of people from one village (rural area) to another village to stay permanently or temporary.
It may surprise someone why these forms of migration especially ‘rural to rural migration’ which seems to have no direct impact on the individual, exists. On the contrary, each form of migration has got its own impacts on both the source and the destination. For example, Gimba and Kumshe(2011) found in their studies that the major driving force of rural- urban migration constitutes employment and the desire for better schooling. These may be termed as the pull factors- factors that encourages people to come to a place, whilst the push factors- factors that drives people away from the town, which constitute hunger, inadequate money, absence of work, and insufficient provision of social amenities, are some of the strongfactors of migration.
2.7 Population movement
Population movement cannot just occur without any reason behind. Gimba and Kumshe 2011 in an attempt to throw lights on the HT model emphasized that, migration is recognized as the adjustment mechanism by which labour finds itself within markets which may either be located in the rural or the urban area. This part is going to deal with some of the remote causes of migration. It will further enlighten us on why a person may choose to move from one rural area to another, while others may on the contrary prefer moving from a rural setting to an urban area. “The major causes of rural-urban migration are identified as; search for better wages, education, political and social stability, better technologies, employment and business opportunities. Others are poverty, unemployment, crop failures and famine, inadequate social amenities and facilities in the rural areas such as pipe borne water, electricity, good roads, hospitals, schools, vocational centres” Gimba and Kumshe (2011:171).
2.8 History of migration
Population movement has been a phenomenon that most people throughout the world engage in. There existed a form of migration since from the era of the hunters and gatherers. Migration as said by Siddiqui has become a central part in the discussion of the economy and that both internal and international migration can have major development and poverty implications for individuals and their families, for origin and destination areas, as well as for national economies (Siddiqui, 2012). Migration and History, an article by the International Organization for Migration 2004 explains the view of migration historians in their agreement to have come into consensus that the flow of migration has been in the continuous and a vital vector of social, economic and Cultural Revolution. Migration may be seen to be a single phenomenon since its beginning. It is never the truth. It has evolved in the world, from town to town, village to village through space and time in a very different form as suggested by the International Organization for Migration (IMO, 2004). It also stated that “… it would be a mistake to assume that migration as it is practiced or experienced today is the same as it has been in the past’. In its explanation of the prehistoric migration, it stated that there is wide agreement among historians and anthropologists that one of the major causes of migration flow was due to shift in climate”. It categorically stated that “why we do not know exactly how prehistoric populations moved over the earth’s surface, in Europe, for instance, there would have been movement southward to escape the spread of ice sheets during periods of glaciation, and reverse migration northward after the glaciers melted”. No nation can claim to have remained unchanged, or even to have always lived in the same place (IMO, 2004). Migration as it stands cannot be attributed to be fully negative or positive as several people embark and later come back with success while others may even lose their lives in the course. Katseli (2006) noted that the review of the scientific facts brings about several situations where migration has had positive effects on development by way of creating employment and flow of wages. Geest 2011 commented on migration in Ghana where he figured Ghana during the 2000 population census that 26.4 per cent of Ghanaians was a domestic migrant. He also predicted that 9.9 per cent of Ghanaians migrated within their birth place, while 16.5 per cent was on interregional migration. The map below shows the main inter-regional migration flows in Ghana and the net migration rates per region.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
The act of making use of the survey method in both the quantitative and qualitative researches is vitally established in academia as an approach worthy of being depended on. This method gives way for reliable information (Lateef, et al, 2010) concerning a specific phenomenon to be collected within its encompassing circumstances (Green and Thorogood, 2009).
3.2 Research Design
Geography encompasses a broader area of research. Among these broader areas include the human, regional and the physical aspect. Migration as a process includes the humans’ aspect of geography. There exist several different forms of migration. Some of which are internal, external, rural to urban, urban to rural, rural to rural and urban to urban. Even though all these forms need to be studied, but all in a collective manner contribute to bring about some impacts in the human society. Therefore, these impacts must be categorically assessed so as to know the trend of migration in our communities and subsequently to be able to bring out policies and plans in the management of migration in the country.
As this research is based on some impact assessment of migration, the research questions raised and the stated objectives of the research will be best achieved through the issue of questionnaires and interview. This procedure gives way for the one conducting the research to make a casual connection with the instruments that are involved in the area being studied (Yin, 1989), while the semi-structured questions facilitate the sourcing of additional information during the course of interview . All these were used under the qualitative method. I adopted the qualitative method because it involves person-to-person discussion which will provide an insight into people’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior on important issues with the aim of finding appropriate explanation to the reasons underlying a given problem in a target group.
3.3 Population of the study area
The population for this research comprised of all the Electoral Areas in the Wenchi Municipality. These areas were selected for easy accessibility of information. The study area according to Wonongnaa et al 2013lies between latitudes 7°27N and 8°30N and longitudes 1°30N and 2°36W. According to (Wonongnaa et al 2013:20), the Wenchi Municipality occupies an area of “7,619.7 square kilometers and a population density of 5-20 persons per square kilometer”. The Electoral Areas include Kokroko, Boadan, Kejetia, Masalachi, Manhyia, Ntoase, Akonkontiwa, Ahenfie and Kaamu Electoral Areas.
3.4 Sample and sampling techniques
The study adopted two sampling technique which are random and purposive sampling techniques for this research. Random sampling ensures that every individual of the study area gets the same possibility of being chosen; to the magnitude that the option of any one in the population will not affect another member at all (Issa, 2011). Purposive sampling was also adopted due to the inclusion of some opinion leaders in an attempt to solicit vital information.
3.5 Instruments for data collection
Appropriate data collection tools were used to collect information from both migrants and Opinion leaders in the Municipality. During the process, the researcher asked for permission from the respondent before proceeding with the research work. The following tools were employed in the research: Structured and semi-structured interview, observation or walk through and questionnaire. Structured interview ensured that each interviewee was presented with exactly the same questions in the same order which ensured that answers were reliably aggregated. Semi-structured interview was used to collect much information through one-on-one interview. The walk through or the observation was also used to critically access the condition in which migrations are found in the Municipality.
3.5.1. Procedure for administration of instruments
Opinion Leaders, Migrants and other offices in the Municipality were contacted as respondents. The Opinion Leaders contacted include elected Assembly Members and some offices in the Municipal Assembly which were the Statistical and Immigration Offices. Data collection took four weeks for the entire data to be gathered. Since the researcher is a native of the same town who understands the language and knows all corners of the town, research Assistant was not employed. The period of contact of the migrants was in the evening around 17:00 GMT while contacted during the early hours of the morning or in the evening around 19:00 GMT due to their busy schedules. The Opinion Leaders responded to questions which were centered on the movements of people to and from the town, causes of such movements, merits and demerits of the movements to Wenchi, factors sending or bringing people to the town, possible destinations of people out of Wenchi, etc. Migrants on the other hand responded to their sources, reasons for migrating, why chosen Wenchi as destination, previous and current jobs, issues of better life compared to the source, plans to go back home or not, etc.