ICMA_Panel 1_Edmond Agyeman_Ghana

Human mobility in GHANA

Prepared by

Dr. Edmond Agyeman

Centre for African Studies

University of Education, Winneba

&

Dr. Mary Boatemaa Setrana

Centre for Migration Studies

University of Ghana, Accra

Cape Town, 03 /12/2014

OUTLINEIntroduction

History of Ghanaian Migration: Key Trends

Contemporary trends in Human Mobility

Ghana’s Migration Policies and Legislations: Overview

Stakeholders in Migration Governance

Assessment of Migration Governance

Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

Purpose of the Project

Four country study to have an idea about human

mobility dynamics in these countries

Methodology

Study countries (Ghana, Nigeria, Angola and South Africa)

Desk Review (UNDP, World Bank, Academic Journals etc)

Key informant interviews

HISTORY OF GHANAIAN MIGRATION: KEY TRENDS

HISTORYOF GHANAIAN MIGRATION: KEY

TRENDS

Pre-independence migration

Large scale immigration to Ghana from Neighbouring African

countries

Large scale internal migration from Northern Half to the Southern

Half of the country

Immigration of Indians and Lebanese

To feed the colonial economy

HISTORYOF GHANAIAN MIGRATION: KEY

TRENDS

Post-independence migration

- Transformation of Ghana into a major migrant sending country

- first towards neighbouring countries (Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire)

- later towards Europe, North America and Asia after the 1980s

- Departure of Labour Migrants from Ghana (Alliance Compliance Order 1969)

- Arrival of Refugees and Asylum seekers from neighbouring countries

- Post 1990s return of Labour migrants, immigration of foreign investors and

significant presence of Chinese

CONTEMPORARY TRENDS IN HUMAN MOBILITY

immigration

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

Tota

l nu

mb

er o

f im

mig

ran

ts

Nationality

IMMIGRATION: TOTAL NUMBER OF IMMIGRANTS

Source: GSS, 2013

Total Number of immigrants by country of origin (2013)

Total Number of Immigrants

for 2013

:600,049

% of total population

:2%

% of 2000 total population

: 3.9%

IMMIGRATION: REFUGEES

12,000

12,500

13,000

13,500

14,000

14,500

15,000

15,500

16,000

16,500

Tota

l nu

mb

er

of

Re

fuge

es

Year

2009 2010 2011 2012

Source: UNHCR 2014a

Distribution of refugees between 2009 and 2012

Total Number Refugees in

Ghana (2014)

:18,681

Main Countries of Origin:

Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia

Causes of their movement

- escaping armed conflicts

- violence in their home

countries

IMMIGRATION: ASYLUM SEEKERS

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

Nu

mb

er

of

Asy

lum

Se

eke

rs

Year

2009 2010 2011 2012

Source: UNHCR 2014a

Distribution of Asylum Seekers between 2009 and 2012

Total Number Asylum Seekers

(2014)

:1,914

Main Countries of Origin:

Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Sudan

Majority are from Cote d’Ivoire

- although Cote d’Ivoire was once

a receiving country

IMMIGRATION: LABOUR MIGRANTS

Employee

Self Employed

Casual Worker

Contributing family worker

Apprentice

Domestic employee

Other

Persons Seeking work for the first time

10.9%

65.6%

1.4%

14.7%

2.8%

0.8%

0.4%

3.4%

Economically Active Immigrants by Sex and Employment Status (2010)Source: GSS, 2013

Ec

on

om

ica

lly

Ac

tiv

e

Determinants of labour immigration

Constitutional Rule in 1992

Stable political environment

economic improvement

TOURISTS AND VISITORS

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

428.5497.1

586.6

698.1

802.8

931.2

1,080.20

Arr

ival

s (i

n 0

00

)

Years

Source: Ghana Tourist Board (cited in ISSER, 2013)

Status of tourism indicators between 2005-2011

Ghana has interesting

destinations eg: Colonial

castles, national parks,

festivals, etc.

The Ebola may have had

negative impact on tourism in

2014

REPATRIATION OF FOREIGN NATIONALS

58

15

7

3 3 3

23

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Chinese Nigerian Bangladeshi Sri-Lankan Sudanese American Others

2010 Repatriation of Foreign Nationals from Ghana

Source: GIS 2010

Fre

qu

en

cie

s

Country of Origin

112 foreign nationals repatriated

Major countries of origin

China, Nigeria,

Migrants have been repatriated

for various offences.

Eg. Fake documentation,

unauthorized economic activities

CONTEMPORARY TRENDS IN HUMAN MOBILITY

Emigration of Ghanaians

EMIGRATION: TOTAL NUMBER OF EMIGRANTS

Source: GSS, 2013

Total Number of emigrants by destination (2013)

6.8

1.5

0.6

1.7

3.1

0.9

7.8

3

10.4

37.7

23.6

2.3

0.5

Nigeria

Liberia

Sierra Leone

Gambia

Togo

Burkina Faso

Cote d’Ivoire

Other ECOWAS National

Africa other than ECOWAS

Europe

America (North, South/Caribbean)

Asia

Oceania

(%) Total Number of Ghanaian

emigrants for 2013

:250,624

There is a shift from

neighbouring African states as

the main countries of destination

to European and Northern

American destinations

SEX COMPOSITION OF GHANAIAN EMIGRANTS

More than half (64%) of

Ghanaian emigrants are males

One third (36%) are females

However, in the Netherlands,

Canada and Germany Ghanaian

female migrants outnumber

males

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

Male

Female

EMIGRATION: REFUGEES

Source: UNHCR 2014a

Distribution of refugees between 2009 and 2012

14628

19922 1978623922

2009 2010 2011 2012

Ghanaian economic migrants

use the refugee and asylum

channel to gain legal acceptance

in destination countries

Major Countries of destination:

Italy, UK, Ireland, Canada,

Causes of their movement

- for better opportunities

EMIGRATION: ASYLUM SEEKERS

Source: UNHCR 2014a

Distribution of Asylum Seekers between 2009 and 2012

8041205

1960

2849

2009 2010 2011 2012

Countries of destination:

Italy, UK, Canada, Ireland

Causes of their movement

- for better opportunities

EMIGRATION: LABOUR MIGRANTS

Source: GSS, 2013

76%

6%

14%

4%

Employed Unemployed Student Other

Reasons for migrating

-Improve financial, human

and social capital.

76% of Ghanaian Emigrants are

employed

Source: GSS 2013

SEX COMPOSITION OF LABOUR EMIGRANTS

The number of females who are

unemployed is 4.3% more than

their male counterparts.

The percentage of males who

are employed is 6% more than

the females

125,637

8,828

20,863

4,948

65,382

6,517

14,321

4,127

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

Employed Unemployed Student Other

Male Female

24.2

2.91

1.4

5.18

2.81

1.51

5.4

7.13

1.72

3.02

10.7

2.48

1.08

2.81

8.81

1.08

3.89

13.72

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

United Kingdom

Germany

Netherlands

Italy

Denmark

Canada

South Africa

USA

Libya

Spain

Israel

Egypt

Belgium

Japan

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

South Korea

Others

IRREGULAR MIGRATION: FORCED RETURNGhanaian Deportees and countries of destination (2010)

Source: GIS, 2010percentages

Total number as at 2010 by GIS:

925

Major Countries of destination:

UK, Israel, Saudi Arabia

UK, 41

Italy, 19

USA, 12

Germany, 7

The Netherlands, 6

Israel, 3

Others, 12

, 0

RETURN MIGRATION

Source: Setrana and Tonah, 2014

There is relatively little

information on return migration to

Ghana

Source: ISSER, 2013

REMITTANCES

Amount of remittances to Ghana

$163 million (IOM, 2014)

Recipients of remittances:

Individuals

NGOs

Purpose of remittances:

-invest in businesses

-welfare of families

-consumption

Ghana is described as a country of origin, transit and destination for men,

women and children exposed forcefully to labour and sex trafficking.

Main destination Countries

Nigeria; Cote d’Ivoire; Burkina Faso; The Gambia; South Africa

Israel; Syria; Lebanon; The United Arab Emirates; Saudi Arabia

Ghana consistently has been in Tie 2 since 2010 to 2013 (TIP Report, 2013). - The government of Ghana does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the

elimination of trafficking

Rescued Victims:

82 Nigerian and 41 Ghanaian victims;’ and detained 10 Nigerian and 6

Ghanaian suspected trafficking offenders (TIP Report, 2013).

TRAFFICKING AND SMUGGLING

OVERVIEW OF Ghana’s MIGRATION POLICIES AND LEGISLATION

MIGRATION POLICIES AND LEGISLATIONS

National Migration

PolicyNational

Legislation on Migration

• Immigration Act 2000 (Act 573)

• Citizenship Act, 2000 (Act 591)

• Other Legal Instruments

• The Alien Act of 1963 (Act 160)

International Legal

Instruments

• The 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol.

• The 1990 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

• The 1981 African Charter on Human and People’s Rights etc.

Regional Legislative Instruments

• ECOWAS Protocol on FreeMovement of Persons, Residenceand Establishment

• The Convention RegulatingInter-State Road Transportationwithin the ECOWAS sub-regionof 1982

• ECOWAS Political Declarationand Regional Plan of Actionagainst Trafficking in Persons ofDecember 2001

STAKEHOLDERS IN MIGRATION GOVERNANCE

Governmental Institutions, Agencies and Departments

Ministry of Interior

Migration Unit

Ghana Immigration

Service

Ghana Refugee Board

Ministry of Tourism

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional

Integration

Diaspora Affairs Bureau

Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations

Labour Migration Unit

Ghana Statistical

Service

Other Government

institutions eg. Bank of Ghana

GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS, AGENCIES AND DEPARTMENTS

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS

InternationalOrganisations/

Institutions

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION FOR

MIGRATION (IOM)

Provides technical and logistic support

to Ghana Government on all

migration and development issues.

UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSION

FOR REFUGEES

(UNHCR)

Provides technical, expert and logistic

support to all refugee and asylum matters in Ghana.

OTHER INTERNATIONAL

ORGANISATIONS, NGOs AND CSOs

eg: ILO, UNDP, UNFPA, the ECOWAS

and the AU, The Catholic and Other

Church Groups.

Academic and

Research Institutions

Centre for Migration Studies (CMS), University of

Ghana

Regional Institute for Population Studies

(RIPS), University of Ghana

Institutes and Centres for African Studies eg. Centre

for African Studies, University of Education

ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS

ASSESSMENT OF MIGRATION GOVERNANCE

ASSESSMENT OF MIGRATION GOVERNANCE

IN GHANA

COORDINATION

Activities of ministries, agencies and other important stakeholders working on migration are usually on smaller scale, not adequately

represented, lack consistency and sometimes overlap each other.

CONTINUITY AND COHERENCE

lack of political will on the part of incumbent

governments to continue with policies and programmes

drawn up by previous governments has generated

policy inertia and incoherence.

MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT POLICIES

Too many ministries and institutions involved in migration issues in the

country at the moment, without clear demarcation of competences and

boundaries.

POLICY IMPLEMENTATION

This has been blamed on lack of political will, lack of

expertise on migration issues, corrupt officials, insufficient

funding and improper institutional structures.

ASSESSMENT OF MIGRATION GOVERNANCE

conclusion

MAIN FINDINGS

Ghana remains both a migrant origin and a migrant destination country.

Neighboring African countries, particularly Nigeria and Cote D’Ivoire aregradually fading out as the main destination for Ghanaian immigrants.

There is increasing presence of Asians esp. Chinese in Ghana

Little is known about the economic impact of foreigners in the country.

1) ETHICAL AND HUMANITARIAN ISSUES

- The level of deportation and repatriation of Ghanaian migrants’ overseas and immigrants in Ghana is quite significant.

- Much of this has often been blamed on irregular migration and security concerns of destination countries.

2) IMPACT OF EMIGRATION/IMMIGRATION ON

DEVELOPMENT

- The focus should not only be on Ghanaians and the Diaspora

- Impact of Immigrants on Ghana’s economy and environment has to

be assessed

3) REGIONAL AND ASIAN IMMIGRATION

- knowledge gap on regional migration dynamics

The need to map the flows (origins, destinations and stock), and assess impact on regional peace, security,

economic development and the regional integration effort.

4) GENDER AND FAMILY ISSUES

- Knowledge gap on gender and family issues

For Example: it will be very interesting to understand how gender, family and trafficking

issues are related in Ghana and in

the West African coast in general.

KEY RESEARCH ISSUES AND GAPS

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION