Abstract
Set in the context of welfare availability in fragile urban societies in developing countries, this paper seeks to examine the risks, vulnerability and inequality experienced by young internal migrants currently working in food markets in large cities Southern Ghana. The paper also examines the nature and impact of the migration process and the implications for both local and national development policy. Questionnaire surveys, interviews and focus group discussions were triangulated to elicit the views and experiences of young migrants from Akuapem North and Dangme West Districts in southern-Ghana presently working in urban food markets Accra and Tema. Individual migrants were the unit of analysis for the study. The study reveals that rural out-migration involves both genders with evidence of vulnerability in relation to the weak and fragile and low social service provision by the state. It also identifies the absence of welfare support for young migrants. Whilst the productive capacity of young migrants could be enhanced by low cost labour opportunities in the urban informal sector, this tends to perpetuate a cycle of social vulnerability, inequality and exploitation. The paper recommends the introduction of employment and welfare programmes in cities with very high concentration of young migrants. It also proposes skill development policy programmes in peripheral rural districts and peri-urban communities in southern Ghana.
