The Effects of Rural - Urban Migration in Ghana: Empirical Evidence from the Okaishie Community - Greater Accra Region

The study examined the effects of rural-urban migration in Ghana – a case study of Okaishie a suburb of the Greater Accra region. The study employed convenience sampling technique. Well-structured questionnaires were used to gather the needed information. It revealed that the majority of the migrants were able bodied youth and majority of them were traders. The migrants’ main reason for migrating is to seek employment in the urban centers for better living. The other factor that motivated them to migrate from the rural areas to the urban center was access to good social amenities such as good drinking water, access to good and quality health care (hospital), good roads, good and quality education, access to electricity and entertainment. The migrants indicated that their respective villages lack these basic social amenities. Therefore, this study recommends that government should provide employment for the citizens in the rural areas by building more industries to prevent the rural folks from migrating into the urban centers. Also, private institutions can put up other food processing companies in the rural areas to provide employment for the youth. Farmers should be provided with loans for their businesses and extension officers should be sent regularly to the rural areas to educate the farmers on their farming activities for better yields. Finally, the government should provide basic necessities such as housing, education, hospitals, good roads, electricity, good drinking water and others in the rural areas of Ghana.