Twenty-two (22) females who were once head potters (Kayayei) have successfully graduated a driving training under government’s NEIP Kayayei Empowerment Programme (KEP).
On Wednesday, a graduation ceremony was organized in Accrawhere the vice president, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia handed over certificates to the qualified bus drivers.
Speaking at the event, the vice president congratulated the graduates and encouraged them to pursue excellence in their new roles as professional drivers.
He emphasized the importance of their achievements, describing it as a testament to resilience and the power of empowerment programs to transform lives.
“Today is a happy day for 22 young ladies who were formerly Kayayei, but today, they are professional Aayalolo drivers. I am happy for their transformation and happy to formally acknowledge them and hand them their certificates,” Dr. Bawumia said.
NEIP Kayayei Empowerment Programme initiative was implemented to is to empower all Kayayei across the country with technical and vocational education and training (TVET) for a total of 5000 head potters.
The programme also features other modules such as fashion designing, soap making, beads making, among others.
Vice President and New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential Candidate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has awarded certificates to 22 former female head porters, known as Kayayei, who completed training and became qualified bus drivers through the Kayayei Empowerment Programme.#UTVGhanapic.twitter.com/sUVCUTcGzZ
Information Minister, Fatimatu Abubakar, has disclosed that president Akufo-Addo’s decision to cancel the Kayayei levy stemmed from his deep concern for the welfare of head porters, commonly known as Kayayei.
She emphasized that the president’s action reflects his commitment to enhancing the lives of these vulnerable workers.
During an interview with Andy Asante Okyere on Radio Univers’ Wonsom in August 2024, Abubakar recounted a personal encounter with the devastating impact of the levy, recalling a Kayayei who suffered a broken neck during a confrontation over the tax.
“Initially, the Kayayei would be working, and the tax collectors would just hold their pans for them to pay the levy.
“And for me personally, I have witnessed a Kayayei who got her neck broken because of the levy. But because President Akufo-Addo had pity, that is why he cancelled the levy,” she said.
She continued, “Today, he has built three training centres at Madina, Ashaiman, and Kumasi, and those who pass out from these institutions are being given capital to start a business. The president is taking the pan from them and giving them life-changing skills to work.”
Abubakar also highlighted the president’s ongoing efforts to support the Kayayei by building three training centers in Madina, Ashaiman, and Kumasi, where graduates receive capital to start their businesses.
The Information Minister underscored that the president’s dedication goes beyond just abolishing the levy.
The Bus Driving Training for Kayayei, part of the Kayayei Empowerment Programme launched by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is scheduled to begin on Thursday, July 25, at Ayalolo’s training centers.
Earlier this year, Dr. Bawumia, the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), unveiled plans to equip head porters, known as “kayayei,” with driving skills during the launch of the Kayayei Empowerment Programme in Madina on Tuesday, May 21.
In his speech at the launch, Dr. Bawumia expressed his commitment to creating opportunities for marginalized groups in society, emphasizing the importance of providing practical skills that can lead to sustainable employment for the kayayei.
“In addition to the strides already made, I am thrilled to announce that discussions are ongoing with Metro mass and Ayalolo to teach them (kayayei) driving,” he stated.
With Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s innovative program, the training for the kayayei is set to start on Thursday, July 25, aiming to empower these individuals with valuable skills and improve their livelihoods.
The Bus Driving Training for head porters, commonly known as “kayayei,” officially kicks off today, Thursday, July 25, as part of the Kayayei Empowerment Programme launched by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
The training sessions will be held at Ayalolo’s training centers, marking the beginning of a significant initiative aimed at enhancing the skills and opportunities for these marginalized individuals.
Earlier this year, Dr. Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, unveiled the Kayayei Empowerment Programme during an event at Madina on May 21.
His announcement included plans to equip head porters with practical driving skills, aiming to provide them with sustainable employment opportunities.
In his launch speech, Dr. Bawumia emphasized his dedication to creating meaningful opportunities for marginalized groups. He highlighted the potential of this initiative to offer practical skills that could lead to stable job prospects for the kayayei.
“I am excited to share that discussions are underway with Metro Mass and Ayalolo to provide driving instruction to the kayayei,” Dr. Bawumia stated, showcasing his commitment to the program’s success.
Former President of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Professor Charles Ofosu Marfo, has expressed concerns that recent government initiatives, such as constructing hostels and providing training programmes for female head porters (kayayei), will promote rural-urban migration.
“I believe it is a retrogressive measure; such initiatives always set us back because we aim to stop rural-urban migration. In an attempt to do that, you don’t build an edifice in Accra. You would only be calling them to come to Accra.
“This is a common economic indicator… One would have thought that they would be given incentives to stay back.
So, if you build hostels and train those coming to Accra, and give them money to work, who is going to ensure that after six months they won’t leave Accra and return to the North? And if all of them leave, no one would be here,” he said.
Recently, Vice President Bawumia inaugurated a modern hostel facility for female porters, mainly from northern Ghana.
The initiative also featured training and educational sessions designed to equip these women with essential survival skills.
The first group of beneficiaries has already completed the program and received startupcapital to launch their own businesses.
In a significant step towards improving the lives of head porters, commonly known as kayayei, the government has delivered on its promise to construct a state-of-the-art hostel facility.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia highlighted the transformative impact of the project, noting that many had doubted its feasibility when first announced.
“They thought it was not a realistic promise, they thought it wasn’t possible, they said it was a 419 scheme, but I knew that insha Allah was possible for us to do it,” Dr. Bawumia remarked.
“However, today, we have proven that with a possibility mindset and the right partnership, nothing is impossible.”
The new hostel facility aims to provide safe, secure, and sanitary living conditions for kayayei, who often endure harsh living environments.
This initiative is part of the government’s broader efforts to support vulnerable groups and enhance their quality of life through targeted social interventions.
The project has been realized through a collaborative effort involving public and private sector partners, showcasing the power of synergy in addressing social challenges.
The hostel is equipped with modern amenities designed to cater to the specific needs of the kayayei community, ensuring they have a conducive environment to rest and rejuvenate after long days of work.
In his speech, Vice President Bawumia emphasized the government’s commitment to social equity and inclusion. “
The vice president, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is being urged by the Ga-Adangbe Traditional Rulers Council to put a stop to the development of head-porter or “Kayayei” hostels in Accra.
The Gadangme Traditional Rulers Council is calling on the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to halt the construction of hostels for head-porters also known as ‘Kayayei’ in Accra.
According to them, the project and other similar ones have become a cause of consternation for the traditional leaders, the youth and people of the Ga Adangme who already feel disillusioned and neglected.
“Excellency, as you are aware the Ga states have lost large tracts of land as a contribution to national initiatives including housing and the various arms of the government machinery. This has left a significantly reduced amount of available land for indigenes to make home. For newly available land to be used for such a purpose is an affront to the allodia owners,” a letter to the Vice President’s office reads.
It continued: “It has been alleged that the said project is being directed, funded and coordinated from your good office. This is worrying as we believe you are well aware of the plight of the Ga states and would not allow such to go on.
“We ask that you as a matter of urgency publicly disassociate yourself from this ail-advised project. We also ask that you use your good offices to ask the Mayor of Accra to clear the air on which persons are behind this project and require the work there be halted with immediate effect.”
Members of the Ga Traditional Council say they have noted with displeasure the unauthorised construction of a hostel for head porters (Kayayei) in Accra and want same to be stopped.
According to the Ga Traditional Council, the construction of the hostel at Agbogbloshie in Accra Central by ‘unidentified people’ should not proceed under no circumstances.
The Council said in a statement signed by King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, Ga Mantse and President of the Ga Traditional Council, that any person or group that wish to proceed with the hostel project for “Kayayei”, should seek a new site outside the city.
“The Ga Traditional Council under the leadership of its President, Ga Mantse and the people of The Ga State, remain vehemently opposed to this Project,” the statement said.
Below is the full statement
The government has started the construction of what it says would be seven 4-storey hostel facilities to be situated one each in seven municipalities in the Greater Accra Region to accommodate the kayayei, to give them decent accommodation after close of work. This was a major campaign promise by the ruling government.
Officials of the Ga West Municipal Assembly (GWMA) recently cut sod to begin the construction of one of the seven hostels, and is expected to be completed in 18 months.
The beneficiary assemblies are the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (3), and one each at Korle Klottey, Ashaiman, La Nkwantanang and Ayawaso Central.
The GaDangbe Council similarly expressed disapproval of the construction of a hostel in the centre of Accra for kayayei, and said the funds to go into the project would be better channelled into the construction of vocational and technical training institutions to give the kayayei employable skills.
Members of theGa Traditional Council demand an immediate halt to the illicit construction of a hostel for head porters (Kayayei) in Accra.
A statement signed by King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, Ga Mantse, and President of the Ga Traditional Council, noted that the Council has not been contacted nor has it been engaged in prior discussions on the establishment of the facility at Agbogbloshie.
It thus served notice that any person or group that wishes to proceed with the hostel project for “Kayayei”, should seek a new site outside the city.
“The Ga Traditional Council under the leadership of its President, Ga Mantse and the people of The Ga State, remain vehemently opposed to this Project,” the statement said.
A non-governmental organization, Rise-Ghana, which is based in theNorthern region, has protested the government’s decision to build hostel facilities for head-porters, popularly known as “Kayayei,” in Accra.
According to the NGO, the issue of constructing hostels will rather encourage rural-urban migration.
This comes on the back of the sod-cutting ceremony to begin construction of a four-storey hostel facility at Adjen Kotokuand other parts of Accra to accommodate 300 head porters.
Speaking on the Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tetteh Thursday, the Executive Director of Rise Ghana, Awal Ahmed Kariama admonished the government to rather solve the problem at source where these head porters are from.
“We need to have a system down here in the North where we will be able to place children who have completed Junior High School in the public sector and government places so they can earn some money. At the end of the day, people are doing this because they want to put food on the table. They want to be able to acquire the necessary tools that they need to go to school. If you interview some of them, they will tell you they want to become an apprentice but they cannot afford their apprenticeship fees.
“So what the government needs to do is identify the challenges of the people which is the source of the problem. The government should put things in place so these people can have the opportunity to feed themselves and earn the income that they need. So that they won’t find it attractive to travel to these places,” Mr. Karima stated.
He further added that building these hostels will create another problem of rural-urban migration as many of them will love to come due to the hostels.
“Today if we have 100 people coming from the North to engage in a Kayayei job. And if you build a hostel that has the capacity to accommodate 100 people, that hostel will attract another set of 100 or 200 people. What we tell these ladies is that most of their sisters sleep on the street and they are exposed to all forms of risk. There have been instances where some of them have been abused sexually, some of them have been killed and others.
So, we use that as a basis to create awareness for people not to go. So, the situation that now we have a shelter, that argument alone will not stand. It is going to open up the floodgate for more people who want to travel to engage in that business,” Mr. Kariama explained.
The GaDangme Council has urged government to build technical and vocational training facilities in the northern region.
This it said will help the youth, especially young women who migrate to the capital for menial jobs, develop business skills.
That would be a better option for stemming the regular flow of teeming youths into the national capital for non-existent jobs, than a proposed construction of a hostel for kayayei (female head porters) in Accra.
The Council has in a statement therefore, urged the government not to go ahead with the advertised construction of the hostel for the head porters but return the land earmarked for the hostel project to its owners, in line with constitutional provisions on land acquisition and usage by the State.
The Council, in the statement signed by its president and former Attorney-General Ayikoi Otoo, and Registrar, Dr. Emmanuel Lamptey, also noted that “to construct hostels for Head Porters is to encourage more unskilled female youth to migrate southwards because accommodation would be assured.”
“In our view, however, the safest solution to the challenges confronting those who migrate to cities particularly Accra, the capital, is the provision of vocational and technical skills within the Regions where they migrate from. When that is done, the migrants having acquired skills, can go into local industries applying their vocational and technical skills to run their small scale businesses instead of moving South for non existent jobs and becoming a burden on both central and local governments.”
Return our lands as you did for Kumasi
“Our immediate concern is that although the Constitution and other laws were used to either vest GaDangme lands in Government for its management and for compulsory acquisitions, yet the injunction that where the land is not used for the purpose for which it was acquired it should be returned to its original owners, is more honoured in its breach than the observance.
“Again whilst vested lands can be devested and the land returned to its owners which we saw recently explicitly demonstrated when parts of Kumasi lands were devested and returned to the Asantehene, same has not happened to many vested lands in Accra. The land on which the Kaayayei hostel is to be constructed was originally compulsorily acquired by the Government of Ghana for development into a recreational area, which would have included stadium, restaurants, cafeteria, boating and yatch club, open air cinema, hotel and restaurant, boat hiring, botanical gardens, public swimming pool, birds aviary, public tennis courts, bamboo bush hut, children play grounds, sight-seeing terraces, paddle boat hiring, cricket oval, badminton courts, volley-ball and football pitches, net-ball, basket-ball and hockey pitches and boat racing etc.
“A scheme known as Korle Lagoon Recreational Planning Scheme was developed to capture the above. Another project called the Accra Korle Lagoon Ecological Restoration Project (KLERP) was approved and funds were sourced from Kuwait, aimed at improving the ecology of the Lagoon by eliminating the material inflows that are clogging the river basin through sanitation control. The project did not yield the expected dividends due to activities of those then residing at Sodom and Gomorrah. Eventually the land use was changed to a Market when Makola could no longer accommodate traders.
“Today, with the commencement of the construction of hostels, it is ample testimony that the original purpose has been abandoned. That being the case, the Council is of a strong conviction that in accordance with the Constitution and laws, the land should be returned to the original owners. The injustice involved in what is happening is that the Ga lands are to be used to resettle non-indigenes whilst there are several homeless indigenes living on the streets fighting for space and accommodation at Bukom, James Town, Chorkor and generally along the coast with no room for expansion. Even with the Government Estates which provide accommodation, the beneficiaries have embarked on massive extensions thereby rendering it impossible for there to be open spaces for social gathering.
“Therefore, since these indigenes also require land for construction and settlement, we propose that the land in question, be handed over to the Greater-Accra Regional Lands Commission to be held in trust and with the collaboration of the composite Ga, Gbese and Korle Stools and James Town Stool and the GaDangme Council for same to be parcelled out to deserving indigenes to use to provide accommodation for themselves.”
Minister-designate for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has said the welfare of head porters, locally called “kayayei†is an issue of top priority to government.
According to him, the government will initiate measures to improve the well-being of head porters across the country.
Taking his turn at the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Thursday 25 March 2021, Ofori-Atta said government is embarking on a series of investments in the northern parts of Ghana to improve the livelihoods of people up north in order to prevent en masse migration from that part of the country.
“The welfare of Kayayei is important to us. Our investment in the North like irrigation and agriculture is to reverse this trend of Kayayei and it is top on our agenda,†Ofori-Atta said.
He was responding to questions from the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Okudzeto Ablakwa on the status of hostels for Kayayei.
Ofori-Atta acknowledged that Kayayei are one of the most vulnerable groups in the capital and therefore required attention. He said there was an urgent need to support such groups in the long-term to enhance their living conditions.
He assured that as part of measures to tackle the menace, government is developing a multi-sectoral policy to help solve the issue going into the future.
He also hinted that government will welcome suggestions from well-meaning Ghanaians to help improve their conditions.
After several years of calling on the government to come to their aid by rescuing them from the financial hardship they encounter while going about their daily duties in the market, head potters, popularly known as Kayayei have finally had a solution to their problem as President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has hearkened to their call.
The President in a tweet on Friday, October 16, 2020, announced that the District Assemblies in collaboration with his government have successfully exempted these head potters from paying market tolls.
Professing his love for Ghanaians, President Akufo-Addo stated that the welfare of Ghanaians matters to him.
“The NPP government has exempted kayayei from market tolls. #YourWelfareMatters #4MoreForNana,†he said in a tweet.
Also, “the NPP government has established a Social Protection Single Window Citizens Service designed to provide a single-entry point for the major social protection programmes.
This is a way of bridging the gap between the maginalised Ghanaians and the privileged in society.
Founder of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Akwasi Addai Odike has faulted government over its classification of some individuals as “vulnerable†in the wake of the COVID-19 without recourse to a thorough judgement to the individual plight of citizens in such a time.
He says not all head porters (kayayei), street hawkers and shoeshine boys who prior to the lockdown earned a living through non-formal activities can be classified as vulnerable because some of them used to make “unbelievable savings†on a daily basis.
According to him, unemployed graduates who had no means of earning a living prior to the lockdown could be the most vulnerable in the present circumstances and so must also be brought into the bracket by government.
He was commenting on the decision by government to serve some 400,000 individuals in the Greater Accra and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan areas with daily hot meals and dry food packages throughout the period of the partial lockdown in those areas, when he made these remarks in an interview in Kumasi-based Angel FM monitored by MyNewsGh.com on Tuesday.
Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection Cynthia Mamle Morrison has refuted claims that head porters popularly known as Kayayei will be enjoying some monetary benefits from the government.
Her comment comes on the back of various news portals reporting that government had instructed the Local Government Ministry to provide GH¢10 daily to every head porter (Kayayei) in the lockdown catchment zones
Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, 7 April 2020, Cynthia Morisson said, “We have the vulnerable at heart. Yesterday, I had a call that said the Kayayei wanted to be on the street because they wanted to feel free. They were actually expecting monies to be given to them. We are not giving anybody money. We are not sharing money but food.â€
She also noted that her outfit has secured an accommodation facility at Madina in the Greater Accra Region for Kayayei in the capital.
“5 buses conveyed 381 Kayayei to a shelter provided for them. This is because we do not want them to be on the street, we got a place for them in Madinaâ€.
Kayayei flee home
Following the announcement of Ghana locking down some city centers due to the Coronavirus outbreak, some head porters, numbering about 76, attempted to flee from Accra back to their hometowns, but their journey back home was unsuccessful as it fell within the lockdown time on Monday, March 30, 2020.
Their attempted crossover to the North was seen as a threat to stop the spread of the virus in the country, and they were stopped by security officials.
The attempted flee, hence, triggered the government to implement the initiative.
Meanwhile, Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has donated GH¢500 to each of the stranded Kayayei (head porters) who were stopped while on their way to the Northern Region.
The move is to ameliorate their plight during the period of the partial lockdown.
The donation was made on behalf of the Vice President by the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama.
Mrs. Cynthia Morrison, Ghana’s Gender Minister has announced that the government during the two weeks lockdown period will provide shelter for some head potters, often referred to as ‘kayayei’ in Accra and Kumasi.
Speaking at a press briefing at the Ministry of Information, today April 1, 2020, the minister said about 1500 kayayei who sleep on the streets will be accommodated, provided food and water during the lockdown period.
“Some of them have rented apartments and we have those who also live on the streets. We have visited some facilities where we think can accommodate our brothers and sisters on the streets and those without places of abode during the lockdown.
We currently have 1500 kayayei to cater for. For those who have their apartment, we will find ways of sending logistics to them, to keep them away from coming to town. And for those that we are going to keep, there’s going to be enough food, water… We have corporate bodies cooking for like 6000…” she told the media, monitored by GhanaWeb.
Meanwhile, over 30 women and children in two trucks en route the Northern Region were impounded at the checkpoint of a COVID- 19 joint security at Duampompo in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality in the Ashanti Region.
The driver had covered the trucks with tarpaulins to try and outsmart the security personnel stationed at the various checkpoints.
Passengers on board the vehicles were mostly head porters who were travelling to the North East Region with their children.
According to these women, when they heard of the lockdown, they decided to go to their hometowns because they have nowhere to sleep in the city.
