Assessing The Re-Integration Of Returned ‘Kayayei’ Migrants In The Savelugu-Nanton Municipality, Ghana

ABSTRACT

Northern Ghana has been impoverished relative to the buoyant urban economy in the South. This process of development has created a spatial dichotomy between Northern and Southern Ghana. This in turn triggered the migration of economically active young people popularly referred to as “kayayei” from the North to the South in search of menial work. This study assesses the reintegration of returned “kayayei” migrants. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches of data collection were adopted. A total of 202 people were interviewed. They included returned “kayayei” and traditional leaders (interviewed with a structured questionnaire). Other traditional leaders were also interviewed as key informants. The traditional leaders were selected using purposive sampling, whilst the returned “kayayei” as well as their relatives were selected using stratified sampling technique. Majority of the respondents (63.9%) did not have any formal education. The results showed that returned “kayayei” who stayed between 5-8 years and above in the “kayayei” migration had significantly greater odds of reintegrating into their indigenous societies. “Kayayo” has an influence on the indigenous cultures of communities in the Savelugu-Nanton Municipality. Young people who embark on “kayayei” return with different attitudes and behaviors that do not conform to the indigenous cultures of the communities. It is recommended that political leaders, policy makers and other stakeholders should devise ways to curtail the menace of “kayayei” since it has negative impact on the developmental agenda of northern Ghana.