Ghanaian migrants call for equal opportunity in trade for economic growth
Ghanaian migrants have urged the Government to create opportunities for large and small scale migrant businesses to enhance economic growth.
They expressed regret over the inadequate stakeholder engagement and coordination between them and government when it came to policy formulation and implementation.
The migrants are of the view that inclusiveness will enable national and local laws to allow them to operate smoothly and to contribute their quota to Ghana’s economic development.
These concerns were captured in the Migration for African Growth (MIAG) project research conducted in Ghana to establish the relationship between economic growth and migration flow.
It was conducted by a team of Consortium from the Centre of Migration Studies (CMS) of the University of Ghana, Legon.
The three-year project was undertaken in four African countries; Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique and Kenya, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council Global Challenges Research Fund (ESRC GCRS).
The MIAG project seeks to understand how and to what extent contemporary migrant communities are contributing to inclusive growth in the four African countries.
Professor Joseph Teye, the Director of CMS, speaking at a dissemination workshop in Accra, said the team conducted 118-indepth interviews covering 12 migrant organisations, 25 key informants in Ghana, 50 migrant business owners and 31 non migrants.
Findings on key economic indicators of the Ghanian economy, compared with the other project countries, revealed that the Gross Domestic Product per capita has been growing amidst fluctuating annual growth rate as well as increasing Direct Foreign Investment (FDI), he said.
It also linked the increased flow of migrants to increased economic opportunities in the informal sector in Ghana and suggested the standardisation of that sector to make meaningful gains.
The findings also mentioned the FDI, supplying of goods, taxes, employment and wages as perceived areas of contribution by migrants, which go a long way to ensure inclusive growth.
It, therefore, emphasised the need for the authorities to deal with the contradictions between national policies and ECOWAS Framework to enhance engagement and protection for both nationals and migrants’ businesses.
Some negative impacts of migrants, mentioned in the findings, include competition, environmental degradation and exploitation of Ghanaian workers, which need to be streamlined to enhance confidence and trust between the nationals and the migrants.
Source: GNA