ABSTRACT
The study was on an approach to enhance welfare in Upper East Area of Ghana through Rural
Electrification projects. The study used both the qualitative and quantitative designs. The
research instruments used were questionnaires, and focus group discussion. The population
for the study was 317 respondents of which 161 were residents from rural communities with
electricity and 156 were residents from rural communities without electricity. Quantitative
data analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for social sciences (SPSS), version
18 and Microsoft Excel. The study results indicates that, the absence of electricity has limited
the rural people from engaging in income generating activities especially those that use
electricity to become economically empowered. Moreover, majority of the respondents were
interested in engaging in some form of business after the introduction of electricity in their
communities. The specific way in which the lack of electricity affects the economic activities
of the people included high expenditure on fuel, restriction in the number of hours of work, as
well as restriction on the kind of businesses to venture into. Furthermore, rural electrification
had an impact on economic activities of micro-businesses in the study area. The most
significant changes which rural electrification had brought for micro-enterprise is that, the
number of micro-business has grown as result of rural electrification, and that access to
electricity has increased the use of modern equipment and tools by micro-business. The study
recommended that the Government of Ghana and other energy stakeholders such as
VRA/NEDCO and ECG should extend the rural electrification projects to other remote areas
to improve their economic, education, health and social livelihoods. Moreover, the provision
of other complementary development programmes such as markets and access to credit will
be critical to the economic growth of businesses in the communities.
Resources, A. & BIIMI, D (2021). An Approach to Enhance Welfare in Upper East Region of Ghana Through Rural Electrification. Afribary. Retrieved from https://afribary.com/works/an-approach-to-enhance-welfare-in-upper-east-region-of-ghana-through-rural-electrification
Resources, African Research, and DUUT BIIMI "An Approach to Enhance Welfare in Upper East Region of Ghana Through Rural Electrification" Afribary. Afribary, 16 Mar. 2021, https://afribary.com/works/an-approach-to-enhance-welfare-in-upper-east-region-of-ghana-through-rural-electrification. Accessed 24 May. 2022.
Resources, African Research, and DUUT BIIMI . "An Approach to Enhance Welfare in Upper East Region of Ghana Through Rural Electrification". Afribary, Afribary, 16 Mar. 2021. Web. 24 May. 2022. < https://afribary.com/works/an-approach-to-enhance-welfare-in-upper-east-region-of-ghana-through-rural-electrification >.
Resources, African Research and BIIMI, DUUT . "An Approach to Enhance Welfare in Upper East Region of Ghana Through Rural Electrification" Afribary (2021). Accessed May 24, 2022. https://afribary.com/works/an-approach-to-enhance-welfare-in-upper-east-region-of-ghana-through-rural-electrification