Migration: A novel livelihood empowerment for families

When I entered the widely-acclaimed “Golden City” of Ghana, I thought of Berekum in the Bono Region as very clean and happy people.

It is very common to find filthy towns in the country but Berekum was different, thereby giving a true meaning to its name “golden city.”

Driving through the busy but clean town of Berekum, I met natives who were willing to take me to the Berekum Traditional Council. I finally met some sub-chiefs who were ready to answer all questions and that made the trip worthwhile. Their enthusiasm was admirable.

After engaging them, I sighed and said to myself “They (sub-chiefs) made my work very easy.” The reason was that as a journalist, some of the indigenes did not want to have anything to do with me for fear of being recorded secretly.

For me, the various places I visited in Berekum made me conclude that they were very lively people with a positive attitude to life. These are reflected in their mannerism and engagements as compared to many other communities l have visited.

The natives of Berekum willingly welcomed me to their homes to engage their families, while some yearned to serve me traditional meals. I was spoilt for choice.

Migration 

It is worth noting that, through my interviews, l discovered that many, if not all of the households, had relations abroad. The reason, I found out was that families encouraged migration to reduce poverty and unemployment in the area.

Though the practice is very common in the Bono Region, Berekum’s obsession was such that there were people who facilitated travels abroad so the beneficiaries would subsequently reciprocate the gesture by meeting their needs by way of remittance, which is  money sent by migrants as a form of gratitude to their families who facilitated their travel abroad.

The passion to migrate has increased the payment of remittance in Berekum to the extent that some mobile money vendors told me that the payment of remittance has created businesses for them.

Many families also said there are countless reasons migrants remit money home. These, they explained, ranged from a combination of economic, social and emotional factors.

For the Berekum indigenes, the need to support family and dependants with remittance for food, housing, education, healthcare among others was key, especially because of the amount of investment they (the family) made to support these travels.

Many migrants also used the opportunity to invest in their personal properties and businesses back home because they also plan to return home someday.

Some migrants also remit funds back home for community development as part of their culture and social obligations.

For many of the households, these funds that come in for family support are meant to improve the standard of living of the people.

Concerns

One thing that is of great concern is how some of the natives, especially young people boast of spending these remittances, resulting in quick depletion.

There should be a way to solve this through financial literacy programmes facilitated by the various financial institutions and development agencies in the area to provide budgeting, savings and investment.

Empowering beneficiaries with financial knowledge will allow them to make more informed decisions and transform remittances into vehicles for long-term financial security and entrepreneurship to drive the local economy.

Testimonies

In Berekum, remittance is one major source of income not only for the unemployed youth who have several siblings abroad but also for developing the town. Some natives who have relations abroad shared their perspectives on remittance.

Mrs Grace Asare, who has five sons in Europe, said that although her sons remit her monthly, her daughters-in-law equally do the same.  

She said proceeds from her late husband’s cocoa farm made it easy for her to facilitate her sons travel costs.

Asked how she manages her monthly remittances, she said, “l do not have to, I do not even spend the money before l receive another remittance”.

A high school graduate, Seth Amankona, who said he was savvy in technology spends a lot of his remittances on new digital devices.

He explained that he had two brothers abroad even though he had lost his parents.

As a result, he said he was their only responsibility and, therefore, he did not see why he should not use his money for comfort.

Impacts of remittance

Remittances provide critical foreign exchange earnings which stabilise national economies and alleviate the effects of economic shocks.

In some developing countries, remittances make up a great portion of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Ghana is a net-receiving country where personal remittances received as a share of the GDP have increased from 5.2 per cent in 2019 to 6.4 per cent in 2023.

Ghana, the second largest recipient of personal remittances in Sub-Saharan Africa, saw inflows of USD 4.6 and USD 4.8 billion between 2022 and 2023.

Although the benefits of remittances depend on the specific labour market conditions in the recipient countries, remittances have played a key role in mitigating the effects of various economic challenges.

Labour migration

In that regard, a management information systems consultant to the World Bank, Nana Amoako Bonti Kakra Asante, urged the government to tap into the multi-billion labour migration industry to boost revenue from taxes.

He said labour migration was one avenue that countries all over the world were making a lot of money from, thus the need for the government to make a conscious effort to explore and regulate labour migration of Ghanaians abroad to protect their rights and tap into the multi-billion industry.

To achieve that, Nana Amoako Bonti Kakra Asante said the government must sign bilateral relations agreements with governments of other countries that require Ghanaian professionals.  

He said regulating migration would ensure citizens’ rights to decent work, well-negotiated remuneration and shelter, as well as enable the government to rake in revenue from taxes paid by citizens.

It is in this vein that as Ghana continues to assimilate into the global economy and navigate its economic challenges, the importance of remittances, regulating migration and its support to both local and national levels in shaping the country, cannot be overstated.

It is, therefore, important for the government to promote financial literacy and encourage the productive use of remittance funds, especially at the local level to facilitate the development process of the nation.

Writer’s email address: lydiaezit@gmail.com