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Of all the images of Ghanaians celebrating the 2016
election results featured on TV and other social media, the one that affected
me most was that which captured female porters (Kaya-Yei) in a euphoric rhythmic match in Kumasi, rhythm created by
the clanging of head pans, the emblem of their profession. What brought a lump
into my throat was the explanation I received for their jubilation: During the
2012 election campaign, the NPP Flagbearer, Nana Akuffo-Addo, had promised them
a hostel. His opponents had rubbished that promise yet did not provide
accommodation for the porters while they were in power. His victory in 2016
raised the porters’ hope that their accommodation need would be fulfilled,
hence, the euphoria. To wit, in this government, the Kaya-Yei can foresee an end to their street life, the homelessness
that exposes them to constant sexual harassment and associated problems.
I labelled the Kaya-Yei
women of hope; they have a right to expect improvement to their lifestyle.
At central lorry stations and major market areas in Accra and Kumasi, one finds
Kaya-Yei living horribly. Some live
outside shops, on pavements. Not only are they easy prey for male sexual predators,
but they are also at the mercy of the weather. The image of a toddler strapped
to its mother’s chest, both dead, in the June 3 disaster still haunts many
Ghanaians. One can, therefore, fully appreciate the Kaya-Yei's desperate desire for secure accommodation.
In other words, the porters have a basic, urgent need,
and decision makers must be pragmatic and address that need while roping in
steps that would enable the porters to have other options in life. It is good
that the planners of the Alhaji Aliu Mahama anniversary targeted the
empowerment of the Kaya-Yei; hopefully,
they avoided the pitfall of generalising the Kaya-Yei issue. If the planners
worked hand-in-hand with the various porter groups, they probably ascertained common
and unique needs. Such a collaboration would not only be effective in targeting
a long-term solution, but it would also dignify the hardworking females with a
voice.
However, the Kaya-Yei
would be dignified, not by free accommodation, but by empowering them
financially so that they can pay for their accommodation. Theirs is a
precarious trade indeed, with hardly any financial security. Yet government’s
efforts to improve their livelihood in the past have been topsy-turvy. This
time, however, stakeholders should ensure that a laudable government initiative
does not fall through. There is a reference.
Empowering Apprenticeship
In 2012, I interviewed a cross-section of artisans from
Bolgatanga and two other regional capitals. Among the interviewees were
beauticians whose apprentices included former Kaya-Yei. A beautician in Bolgatanga praised Afrikids, an
international NGO, for sustaining apprenticeship projects. She explained that Afrikids
would place the unskilled in vocational programmes, support them financially
till apprentices completed the training, then set them up in business, so that
the beneficiaries can work and pay back the starting capital. I met three of
them.
She then compared Afrikids with Asongtaba, the
Government Organization that was handling a similar rehabilitation programme.
She said that Asongtaba placed unskilled ones in the apprenticeship programme
and left the latter to their fate. At the time, three Kaya-Yei in the programme had abandoned the training and returned
to Accra for over a year, but the Organization was not even aware of that
development. The Beautician explained the females’ action: They were earning a
living as Kaya-Yei in Accra.
Asongtaba recruited and enrolled them in apprenticeship, but it would not remit
the apprentices. When the latter realised that no remittance was forthcoming,
they returned to their trade in Accra. Will the current initiative travel the
Afrikids path or take the Asongtaba way? Only time will tell.
Was Asongtaba resourced enough and monitored to ensure
that it fulfilled its mandate as a Government oversight agency? Which
collaborations did it forge? Did government demand scheduled feedback as a
monitoring strategy? Did the Agency reach out to the casualties? Was there a
human motive? Some drivers in Bolga gave similar accounts about Afrikids. So there
is proof of the latter’s commitment and Asongtaba’s negligence. Such gaps have
railroaded Kaya-Yei rehabilitation
programmes in the past. Could the current planners take a cue from Afrikids,
strategize to ensure that the Kaya-Yei
acquire genuine skills for secure vocation, since that is the only avenue
through which to meet the UN’s SDG target of fighting extreme cyclical poverty.
Closely aligned with skill acquisition is the job security
such initiatives can offer the Kaya-Yei.
Acquired skill would create options for dignified jobs for the women. Currently,
the porters carry loads, the weight of which could never be imagined by some of
us, for a pittance. There is no regulation regarding load charges. Most times,
they leave it to the person that has hired them to determine a fee. If there
was a structure and weight determined charges, the Kaya-Yei would not be so susceptible to exploitation. They would
earn enough for decent food and accommodation and save for a rainy day. As
it is, the unskilled is compelled to such hedged in existence; skill will open
avenues for them.
Diverse Background
Yet, the Kaya-Yei have varied socio-cultural and economic stories, so the rehabilitation initiative
must have a broad plan that can cater to various aspirations. An appreciable
majority ran to the regional capitals to avoid being forced into marriage;
others escaped from oppressive marriages. Some of them are victims of parental
neglect or extreme poverty or social persecution. Some had a bit of education
before they were compelled to take up that trade, hence, there are some bright
females buried under loads, horribly underutilised, and who would love to get
opportunity to study. It would therefore not augur well to clump the Kaya-Yee in a generalised rehabilitation
programme. As stakeholders, they must have a voice in the direction their lives
should take.
Apparently, the national goal is to nurture and
unleash the full human potential of the Kaya-Yei
in order to reduce or clear dependency. To achieve that, the rehabilitation
programme must be backgrounded by a rich literacy programme. Any hostel that
should be built for the porters should have reading rooms. Once they achieve a
proficiency in reading, boarders should commit to spaced formal learning which should
be well-integrated with the trade. COTVET, NVTI and the Institute of Adult
Education ought to collaborate to ensure that the Kaya-Yei become empowered through intellectual development.
The NVTI has several vocational training programmes, ranged
from beginner to advanced, which could accommodate various aspirations of the
Kaya-Yei. It has programmes for the illiterate, semi-literate and secondary
school graduates. Best of all, it could tailor a formalised apprenticeship programme
for the Kaya Yei. The Institute of
Adult Education could design a flexible literacy programme to suit various
learning groups. COTVET would fund and oversee the project for quality and
certification.
A major challenge to formal learning would be the Kaya-Yei themselves. Having lived as independent income earners, they would find it difficult to invest in learning,
thinking they would be losing money. A tactful approach would get her to
appreciate that they belong to the unemployed
in disguise. In other words, the literacy programme could feature critical
thinking and ethics that might enable the Kaya-Yei
to develop an appropriate perspective of developing the human capital, rather
than chase heavy loads yet barely eke out a living.
Meanwhile, their lives could be made a lot easier if
they used a tri-cycle to cart loads instead of carrying them. Credit groups
could collaborate with metropolitan assemblies the anniversary planners, and
Ministry of Children and Gender to design a system of hire-purchase of
tri-cycles for the Kaya-Yei. A daily collection
would ensure regular payment and eventual ownership. Of course, there would be
tracking and other security issues, but therein lies the challenge. Credit
groups should design innovative loan facilities for such vulnerable groups too,
instead of constantly and viciously harassing salaried workers with loans. It
would be a social service if the facilities lent to the Kaya-Yei at a very low interest rate such as 3 %. Everyone has a
role to play in the rehabilitation, since the porters’ well-being is our
well-being.
Improving the livelihood of the vulnerable Kaya-Yei would be a win-win situation
for the entire nation. They are highly prone to rape and diseases, unwanted
pregnancy and unplanned childbirth, all of which perpetuate a vicious cycle of
extreme poverty. Such environment breeds wayward people who prey on hardworking
citizens. Indeed, yanking the Kaya-Yei
from their harsh existence would be a huge favour for the tax payer. So a
holistic approach to the Kaya-Yei
situation would be key to its sustainability, a stone that would kill many
birds.
Male Porters
Male porters fall within the same brackets of
rehabilitation. Virile young men who could perform well in various industries
are trapped under heavy loads and other menial jobs, seriously underutilised. They
are also limited by illiteracy. Sometimes they pull wooden trucks of mountainous
loads. In some cases, the truck represents a graduation from carrying loads on
the head; it could be outsourced to other pushers, in which case, the owner
becomes the real beneficiary. Tri-cycles would ease the manual labour a bit,
since there is a seat for the handler. Of course, literacy will enable some of
them to opt for other vocations, leaving anti-social behaviour behind. Male or
female, the porters deserve a break and dignified vocations.
The rehabilitation should be human-oriented, not
politically-motivated; the porters must be considered as humans in need of
assistance, not as a political score. The real target should be reducing
dependency, aiding porters to acquire life-long vocational skills. Once skilled,
they could secure jobs and discard street life; society would benefit. If
sustained jobs raised the financial status of the porters, extreme poverty
would be reduced. Above all, if the porters found other vocations and earned
decent income, they would be able to look at themselves with dignity, because
they would be independent citizens. That would be development!
