Covid-19 Pandemic and the Responsiveness of Social Protection Policies to the Wellbeing of Informal Sector Workers in Ghana

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the livelihood of informal sector workers. Also, it examined the responsiveness of the government’s mitigation measures to enhance the socio-economic wellbeing of informal workers in Accra. The study used a qualitative approach and surveyed 150 informal sector workers. Further, it interviewed 27 respondents from the non-organised labour market and officials from the private and public sectors. This work was guided by the Critical Realism Paradigm, Vulnerability Theory, and the Theory of Justice. The study showed that the pandemic severely affected informal workers during the lockdown period. The COVID-19 crisis resulted in a decline in income and difficulty accessing food. The pandemic had varied effects in terms of gender, with more women experiencing a decrease in livelihood. The informal sector workers had devised strategies to cope with the hardship posed by the pandemic and resorted to assistance from social networks. Thus, informal social schemes played a vital role in enhancing the livelihood of these workers amidst the pandemic. The government extended social protection to the informal sector workers. Yet, government stimulus packages were less responsive to most respondents’ socio-economic needs. The targeted groups to receive government assistance were inadequately defined, leading to exclusion errors. The dependency of most respondents on third parties for water and electricity prevented them from realising the benefits of utility tariff reduction. Moreover, the financial relief package was elite biased as some informal workers could not meet the eligibility criteria for assessing loans. As the government of Ghana work towards revitalising the economy, some key factors for consideration are examining the gendered effect of the pandemic, increasing informal businesses' access to funds and widening social protection programs to promote social justice.