Ken Ofori-Atta, Finance Minister
“Mr Speaker I am happy to announce that preparations are now complete and the construction of the first 600 bed kakayei hostel will commence in Agbogbloshie next month to provide accommodation and skills training to these vulnerable young women”.
These were the words of the Finance Minister, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, when he appeared before Parliament on 13 December, 2019 to spell out plans the government has for head porters, who are known in the local parlance as “Kayayei”.
These young ladies doing such doing such menial jobs in the cities come from the remote areas in the four Northern regions, namely, Savannah, Northern, Upper East and Upper West, to find work to feed themselves and support their families, as there are no better jobs in their places of origin.
As tough as the situation is, when they get into the cities, they live in the slums and are given inhumane treatments as they carry out their work. It is against this backdrop that the Government of Ghana (GoG) and the Ministry of Finance made this disclosure in Parliament to help them get professional skills to enable them fetch decent incomes.
Unfortunately, nothing has been done about the “accommodation” or “skills” development that was promised our vulnerable sisters, as at today.
The kayayei are left confused and no one knows when the government intends to make this dream a reality. Or was it a mere political talk? Last week Friday, the nation was greeted with the sad news of a fire outbreak at Dagomba Line, Kumasi, a shanty community where these head porters consider their home. The place was razed down by fire.
The fire also destroyed all the properties and valuables they have been able to acquire through carrying heavy goods on their heads. Thank God that no life was lost during the fire outbreak.
Sadly, there has not been any word of consolation from any government official after the incident. The benevolence of the general public is the only shoulder they are left to lean on. Now, they have two options – either to go back to where they came from or start all over again.
The latter is a herculean task and a decision that we believe only a few can take and execute. Thus, looking at the magnitude of pain and suffering they may have to go through to be able to get back on their feet, accompanied with the daily risks they will be facing carrying people’s goods for a few cedis and coins, just to make ends meet.
We, therefore, want to use this medium to remind the authorities to give them the needed attention to end their plight and suffering.
We at The Chronicle wish to sympathise with all who have lost their belongings in the fire outbreak. We pray that they get themselves together and fight the storms that life has presented them.
The character of a strong person is not to find blame when you stumble and fall, but to rise and move on in perseverance and determination. This is our clarion call to the vulnerable in society, in this case, our gallant “Kayayei”
