Head porters, also known as Kayayei in the Ga West Municipal Assembly (GWMA), will be able to live in a decent home after work within the next 18 months.
This comes after the sod was cut to start building of a four-story hostel facility for 300 people at Adjen Kotoku.
The facility is one of seven that will be built in seven municipalities around the Greater Accra Region.
Three would be constructed inside the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, with one each at Korle Klottey, Ashaiman, La Nkwantanang, and Ayawaso Central.
The four-story facility, the first of its kind, would be finished in 18 months thanks to government funding.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Ga West, Clement Nii Lamptey Willkinson, revealed at a brief ceremony to cut the sod to commence the project in Accra that the ground floor of the facility would include an auditorium, while the first, second, and third floors would house the head porters.
He said that the scheme was part of the government’s efforts to improve the lives of Accra’s head porters.
“The government is in to support and the head porters as there are a number of them in the southern part of the country,” he said.
He refuted concerns that such a facility would encourage more young girls to migrate from the north to the south, pointing out that hundreds of such girls were already in the south, and the key thing was to manage them.
“We can’t say they should be everywhere in Accra or in Kumasi, but the few that we have here, we need to manage them, and this is part of the management,” he explained.
Hostel facility
He went on to say that the facility would not only offer them with housing, but would also provide them with opportunities to learn practical skills such as dressmaking and hairdressing.
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“Giving them this hostel facility doesn’t mean they will be here all the time, some will move on eventually.
The government will also organise training programmes for them, such as dressmaking and hairdressing,” he noted.
He explained that they may benefit from the instruction if they first joined the Kayayei Association.
Marvin Adjei, an officer from Frontline Limited, the project’s consultants, stated that the Ga West Municipality was the first municipality to have the facility erected under the Kayaye Hostel Accommodation Facility project.
Appreciation
Henry Nii-Chartey Marbell, Assembly Member for Kotoku Electoral Area, praised the government and the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) for launching the initiative in the municipality and promoting community development.
He did, however, warn the administration that the Adjen Kotoku market should be expanded to include community people in order for them to get the full benefits of the market.
SOURCE: GRAPHICONLINE
