The Vice President and Flagbearer of the NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has inaugurated a state-of-the-art hostel facility and a skills training and empowerment center in Accra for head porters, commonly known as Kayayei.
These versatile facilities, situated in Madina and Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region, fulfill a commitment made by Dr. Bawumia on behalf of the government in 2019 during a visit to the head porters’ base in Agbogbloshie. The promise was to provide them with decent accommodation and assist in removing them from the streets.
In addition to the hostel facilities, a skills training program has been established through collaborative efforts among various government agencies, the private sector, and NGOs. This initiative goes beyond the initial promise to empower the disadvantaged girls further.
During the event, Dr. Bawumia expressed his satisfaction with the commissioning of the facility and the launch of the training program. He emphasized that this initiative would address the challenges faced by marginalized girls and offer them transitional job opportunities to improve their socio-economic status.
Dr. Bawumia highlighted that there are over 100,000 head porters in Ghana enduring hardships such as homelessness, lack of medical care, and urban harassment daily, necessitating urgent attention.
In addition to providing decent accommodation, the government is committed to empowering the head porters to become self-employed through the establishment of the Kayayei Empowerment Program. This program aims to provide economic empowerment to the young women to prevent their return to the streets.
Government plans to construct two more facilities in addition to the ones in Madina and Ashaiman, each equipped with various amenities. Dr. Bawumia acknowledged the collaborative efforts of government agencies, private enterprises, and civil society organizations that made the project possible.
The leadership of the Kayayei girls, who were present at the event, expressed their gratitude to Dr. Bawumia and the government for the intervention.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency, Republic of Ghana.