Consequences Of Rural-Urban Migration Of Street Vendors In The Accra Metropolitan Area And The La Nkwantanang-Madina Municipality

Abstract

Rural-urban migration has resulted in rapid urbanization with attendant problems of urban unemployment leading to increasing street vending which invariably is a source of livelihood for many street vendors and their dependents at the destination and the origin. In their quest to eke for livelihood and survival on the streets, street vendors tend to have confrontations with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) city authorities who on one hand have designated the activities of the vendors as illegal and nuisance to the development of the city centre and on the other hand they concede that they are a source of revenue in embarking on developmental projects. The study therefore sought to explore the consequences of rural-urban migration of street vendors in the Accra metropolitan area and the La Nkwantanang-Madina municipality. Specifically, the research tries to explore the socio-demographic characteristics of the migrant street vendors that make them move to Accra; find out the push and pull factors that generate the migration of street vendors to Accra; examine how migrant street vendors negotiate their relationship with city authorities and their fellow vendors; and examine the effects of their rural-urban migration on their livelihoods and those of their families. The study employed the mixed method approach to gather the data from 60 respondents for the survey questionnaires, in-depth interview of 12 informants and 3 key informants from the AMA officials. Purposive sampling design was used to select the respondents for the interviews. The survey reveals that street vendors are mostly in confrontation with AMA city authorities over the use streets, pavements and open spaces. Recommendations have been at the end of the survey to reduce the influx of the migrants and how the relationship between the migrants and the AMA city authorities can be handled.