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Past Events June 13, 2007
Women and the Informal
Economy: A Special
Relationship? by Dr. Dzodzi Tsikata
May 30th 2007
The
Spatial Dimensions of the Informal Economy -
Prof. S. Afrane, Dean, Faculty of
Planning & Land Ecomony
16th May 2007 New Trends in Informal Social Security Systems in
Ghana -
Dr. Ellen
Bortei-Doku-Aryeetey. Subject Area: Social Development (ISSER-Merchant
bank series)
2nd May, 2007
Manufacturing and Artisanal Services in the Informal Economy.
by Dr. Robert Osei. Subject area: Macroeconomics (ISSER-Merchant
Bank serires)
18th April, 2007:
The Informal Sector in Education: The changing character and the role
of apprenticeships in Ghana by Prof
Mansah Prah
4th April, 2007
The Situation, Current Challenges and Future Prospects of the
Informal Economy in Health By Mr Alfred Obuobi
Abstract
Women and the Informal
Economy: A Special
Relationship? - Dr. Dzodzi Tsikata
A distinct characteristic of the informal economy in Ghana and
everywhere in sub-Saharan Africa is that it is the predominant
location of women’s productive activities. It is no exaggeration to
say that the informal economy is female. Its numerical composition
is predominantly female and its official characteristics, the nature
of many enterprises and its labor relations are all associated with
the features of women’s work. While this is often acknowledged, it
does not appear to be taken into account in discussions about the
solutions to the problems of the informal economy.
This is in spite of a growing body of excellent
studies on women in the informal economy. Women’s predominance in
the informal economy is linked with the history of urbanization and
the creation of a formal economy presided over by the colonial
state. The labor recruited to work in colonial bureaucracy, public
and private enterprises, the mines and to build infrastructure was
predominantly male. This and the discriminatory character of
colonial education meant that women participated in the colonial
economy on its margins, performing the critical functions which
reproduced the colonial labor force. The margin grew, its functions
expanded and it provided work for increasing numbers of urban and
rural dwellers without formal schooling. It came to be christened as
the informal economy. In the old conception of the informal economy
as a temporary place for those who could not be absorbed by the
formal economy, more and more of the labor force was expected to
move into the formal economy. This did not happen. Instead, the
informal workers grew and became more and more central to the
economies of sub-Saharan Africa.
Economic liberalization programs such as
Ghana’s Economic Recovery Program which was instituted in the 80s
resulted in an exponential growth of the informal economy. Workers
who lost their work in the formal economy moved into the formal
economy, a growing population of young people who had completed
their basic and secondary education and two decades of recovery
characterized by economic growth without creation of employment
(jobless growth) created a very substantial informal economy and the
informalization of labor relations in the formal economy. While the
expansion of the informal economy has created new work opportunities
for women, most lucrative jobs have found. Instead women have become
entrenched in the survivalist sections of the informal economy
making a living in conditions which do not conform to the ILO
standards for decent work. As well, many women working in the formal
sector are in the informal labor relations with implications for
their conditions of service and the job security. Thus it can be
argued that women’s special relationship with the informal is not a
happy one.
This presentation will discuss women’s
participation in the informal economy, their work conditions and its
implications for their livelihoods using examples from three sectors
in which women are predominant-domestic labor, trading and banking
sector. State policies towards the informal economy will be
discussed from a gender perspective as will be the recent phenomenon
of employment agencies as a new institutional form of mediating
labor relations. The dominant policy recommendations which favor the
formalization of the informal economy will be discussed and
recommendations made for reforming labor relations in the informal
economy in order to promote decent livelihoods for the women and men
whose work keeps our economy on the road and households together.
ABSTRACT
The Spatial
Dimensions of the Informal Economy
The Informal Economy is a visible and unyielding phenomenon
characterizing the space economy of cities of the developing world
including Ghana. It comprises a whole array of small-scale labour-intensive
enterprises which provide jobs and income for millions of people in
these cities (ILO, 1973, Gerards et al, 1998, Alison, 2006). This
paper sought to analyse the spatial dispositions of the activities
of the informal economy in Ghanaian cities within the framework of
the urban planning system and to propose policies and interventions
that will address the spatial problems associated with the
uncontrolled locations of these enterprises. Kumasi was used as a
case study. It's informal economy currently provides jobs for about
75 % of the labour force in the Metropolis (Boapeah, 2001).
The analysis revealed different and complex spatial dispositions of
these activities. Whereas some are foot-loose (e.g., hawkers),
others take place in large organized locations, public open spaces,
residential public domains, within housing space, road sides and
walkways. It was observed that because no provisions were made for
them in planning schemes, unoccupied public spaces always became
their obvious targets. Most of these activities have annexed and
located in public spaces. It was further established that the
ubiquitous locations of these activities is due to its small space
requirements and the flexibility characterizing their operations.
Regarding legality of their operations, it was found that most of
them (74%) did not have legal authority or planning approval while
92% were squatting on the lands on which their enterprises are
located.
In sum, the uncontrolled emergence of informal activities across the
entire landscape of the city has resulted in encroachment of public
spaces, distortion of the orderly implementation of planning schemes
and the creation of all forms of spatial frictions including
vehicular and pedestrian conflicts. To address this problem, there
is the need to provide alternative sites for informal activities;
resource and strengthen city planning institutions, introduce
legislative reforms and public participation in the planning system
and finally review the entire planning system in Ghana. This will
entail shifting from the conventional segregationist approach of
land use planning to an integrative model which ensures that 'there
is a place for everything and everything in its place' (Perin,
1977). This approach will ensure that informal activities are not
treated as an 'after-thought', but rather their space needs are
well-integrated in the Structure Plans of cities.
Profile: Dr. Afrane is an
Associate Professor in Development Planning and is currently the
Dean of the Faculty of Planning and Land Economy of Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. He has considerable
research, teaching and consultancy experience in Strategic Planning,
Institutional Development, Microfinance issues, Urban Development
and Management, and Project Monitoring and Evaluation. He has been
involved in a number of research projects in Ghana and other
countries including South Africa, Uganda, Malawi and Bolivia in
Latin America. He has served as a consultant to many local and
international agencies including the Ministry of Finance, district
assemblies, the World Bank, UNDP, USAID, ILO, Opportunity
International, World Vision International, IFAD, ECLOF-Geneva, DFID
etc. He is a member of the National Development Planning Commission
and also chairs many institutional boards and Committees. He has to
his credit many research publications and consultancy reports.
New Trends in Informal Social Security Systems in Ghana
The Seminar presentation reviews on-going
developments in social security practices among people in the
informal economy, with special reference to what may be driving
changes here. It is acknowledged that on the whole there is evidence
of the endurance of traditional practices of social assistance among
people in the informal economy. For example, the norms of
reciprocity that have traditionally guided inter-group relations
have remained largely intact. Many people continue to turn to their
social networks for support. Therefore, in terms of trends in
informal social security there are really no dramatic changes. But
on the other hand there is widespread evidence of social security
failures among those who rely largely on their social assistance
arrangements within the informal economy, indicating that this
channel is no longer able to cushion workers and their families
against shocks. This is said to be linked to the high levels of risk
and uncertainty that characterize the informal economy, arising from
income insecurity, high out-migration and dilution of traditional
social capital. But, this is not to loose sight of the adaptable and
dynamic nature of informal social security, as households and
communities devise new forms of support to meet new challenges. For
example, as has happened in the case of the Queen mother support for
AIDS Orphans in the Somanya area. Innovative approaches being
adopted by formal sector providers such as SSNIT to attract workers
in the informal economy are addressed. Finally, the state’s more
formalized response to the need to provide social protection for
disadvantaged groups through the National Social Protection Strategy
is briefly discussed. The information for the presentation comes
largely from secondary sources as well as my own past research
Profile
-Dr. Ellen Bortei-Doku-Aryeetey.
Dr. Ellen Bortei-Doku Aryeetey is a Senior Research Fellow at the
Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) and
the Acting Head of the Centre for Social Policy Studies (CSPS) both
at the University of Ghana, Legon. She has conducted research and
taught on various aspects of social development, and has
participated in social policy dialogue and planning with state
agencies, development partners and non-government organizations. She
has also published materials on community development, gender and
development and the social organizational aspects of artisanal
fisheries, amongst other.
Manufacturing and Artisanal Services in the Informal Economy in
Ghana
Although the manufacturing sector in
Ghana remains a key part of the development agenda, it’s performance
has been anything but impressive. This paper argues that part of the
reason lies in the fact that not enough attention has been given to
the informal manufacturing and artisanal services sub-sector. Using
data from a recent Bank of Ghana study, it highlights some of the
features of the manufacturing and artisanal services in the informal
economy in Ghana as follows: they operate as one man businesses,
financing the business mainly from personal and family savings, but
remain quite optimistic about the future business environment. The
paper throws some light on the factors that need to be taken into
consideration in thinking about the formalisation of the informal
manufacturing and artisanal services in Ghana.
The Informal Sector in Education: The changing character and role of
apprenticeships in Ghana
Based Mainly on the results of a study of
Cape-Coast based micro-enterprises that train apprentices and on
insights from an on-going study of blacksmiths and gunsmiths in
Ghana, the paper discusses differences between formal and informal
vocational education in terms of social attitudes towards them,
pedagogy and policy, and throws light on the changing nature of
apprenticeships. Although there are a wide variety of arrangements
for training, some trends were identified. There appears to be a
shift from the more traditional training of children and other
family members by parents who are 'masters and madams' to a
commercialized type of apprenticeship which involves informal
contracts, cash payments and the education of trainees who are not
family members. There is also a growing degree of formalization in
the sector. The implications of the latest educational reform for
the future of apprenticeships in Ghana are discussed.
Profile: Mansah Prah
was born and bred in Accra. After completing her undergraduate and
graduate education in sociology and education at the universities of
Heidelberg and Frankfurt respectively, she joined the academic staff
of the university of Cape Coast as a lecturer in 1985. Her research
are in gender and education, rural sociology and popular culture.
She was the head of the department of sociology, university of Cape
Coast from 2000 to 2005, and has served as the Dean of the Faculty
of Social Sciences since Sept 2006.
The Situation, Current Challenges and Future Prospects of the Informal
Economy in Health
This lecture
attempts to provide a clearer understanding of the role of the
informal economy in health in Ghana. It explores the development of
the informal health economy and addresses the situation, current
challenges and prospects of the informal economy in health and
suggests strategies and policies that will strengthen the role of
the informal health economy.
Over the last
decades, it has become clear that the informal economy has
significant job and income generation potential especially in
developing countries. It is therefore appropriate to develop
appropriate policy frameworks and strategies to promote the
potential of the informal economy to create jobs and economic
growth. In the case of the informal economy in health, a clear
understanding of the health delivery system as a whole is needed.
The health delivery system embraces both public and private
provision and financing. Public/Formal provision is anchored in the
Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ghana Health Service. Such other
Ministries like Education (MOE), Finance (MOF), Local Government (MOLG)
and Defence (MOD), as well as some parastatal institutions support
them. The private sector consists of both formal and informal
providers, ranging from individuals, households and communities, to
doctors, pharmacists, NGOs and a variety of traditional
practitioners. Despite this plurality, discussion of the health
system focuses so heavily on the public sector role in health care
delivery that the quite significant contributions of non-state
actors, especially the household and the traditional, have tended to
be down played.
As the burden of
providing health care has become increasingly onerous, government
policy has sought to develop the partnership between the public and
private sectors. (MTHS 1995) The object is to mobilise greater
resources and enhance quality, equity and availability of care. For
this to be successful, a holistic view of the health care system is
required. For the past few decades, efforts have been made at
reforming the health sector to make it more efficient, equitable and
more responsive to consumer needs. Despite of the progress made,
there is the need for a much stronger political commitment to
improving health and forging partnerships with the key actors in
informal health economy.
Profile
Mr. Alfred Obuobi
has spent the last 23 years teaching, consulting and doing research
after obtaining an MPH in health planning and economic development
in 1979 at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His fields of
specialization are health service planning and management, strategic
management, health economics, health care financing and health
policy analysis.
At present, he is
a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School and the
School
of Public Health, College of Health Sciences at
the University of Ghana. He has taught undergraduate and
post-graduate courses in health service management, public health
planning and applications, health economics, general principles of
management and administration, health service supplies, community
h.ealth and human relations in organizations. In 1993, Mr. Obuobi
was a member of the Committee which established the School of Public
Health and is currently a member of the Executive MBA Council of the
University of Ghana Business School.
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