IV. Interviews - World Banksiteresources.worldbank.org/CMUDLP/Resources/... · IV. Interviews This...

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African Union for Housing Finance

IV. Interviews This section presents the interviews in detail in the following order: 1. Jamestown (mostly traditional family houses, with “owner” families) 2. Nima (mostly renters in family houses with absentee landlords) 3. Kotobiabi 4. Mamponsa (beach side settlement) 5. Sodom and Gomorrah (squatter settlement near the lagoon, slated for resettlement) 6. Railroad settlement (squatter settlement) 7. HFC market women (from Makola Market and Agbogbloshie Market)

Sarah is a 56-year old, and the primary bread-winner in a family ofdaughter, mother (HoH, Elizabeth Kuma Aunor), and two orphaned studying nursing in the US. He is married to an American, and lives wmedical facility, and earns some 1.5 million cedis per month.

Sarah Teteh

Sarah shares this plot with 3 other households. Background Like her mother, Sarah was born and raised in Jamestown, and has livher grandfather’s employer, a “white man,” gave him this house, which HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS Sarah Teteh 56 years Nurse

Mother/ HoH (Elizabeth Kuma Aunor) 78 years Retired

Daughter 1 19 years Unemployed

Grand son (from daughter 1) 8 years Student

Nephew 1 (deceased sister’s son) 30 years Petty trader

Nephew 2 (deceased sister’s son) 28 years Cleaner

NON RESIDENT FAMILY MEMBERS WITH CLOSE TIES Son (with American wife) 23 years Student, USA

OTHER HOUSEHOLDS ON PLOT

1 Aunt(Elizabeth’s cousin)

66-year old widow, and head of HH, living with a 33-yedaughters aged 18, 8, and 5. The niece’s parents whocover basic expenses. This room in the house was inhaunt and her 6 siblings, all of whom are currently living

2 Tenant 60-year old male, who lives with his 23-year old son.the building, and pay rent to Elizabeth’s cousin, @ 20KWater and electricity are not included.

3 Uncle(Elizabeth’s brother)

50-year old head of HH, who lives alone; his kids live e

5, which includes her daughter, grand nephews. Sarah’s son, 23 years old, is ith his Uncle. Sarah is a nurse at a local

ed in this house all of her life. She says he then passed down to his children.

Income: 1.5M cedis/m

No income

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“Very little income”; no contribution to HH exp.

Occasionally remits money

Sarah (left) with her mother, Elizabeth

ar old niece, and her three live abroad remit money to erited, and belongs to the elsewhere.

1 room; 5 residents

They occupy two rooms in cedis per room per month.

2 rooms; 2 residents

lsewhere 1 room; 1 resident

Female-headed household | 3 single mothers Household income: 1.55 million cedis/ month Household size: 6 No. of households on plot: 4 No. of persons on plot: 14 No. of rooms on plot: 8 No. of rooms used by this household: 2 Toilet: bucket and pan Water: Shared standpipe in courtyard Commercial use: 1 shop for rent on front façade of bldg

Housing and Land

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The structure. The main building is a 2-story rectangular block made of permanent materials. A second block was built after they moved to this house, across the courtyard, with relatively temporary materials, which now houses the renters, and other guests. There are a total of 8 rooms: Sarah’s household occupies 2, her uncle owns two which he has rented out, and another two are occupied by another uncle. Of the remaining two, one is a “dead persons’ room”, essentially used for funerals, but otherwise kept vacant. Another room on the second story is empty, but they have to renovate it before deciding what to do with it. The front half of one of the uncle’s room has been converted into a shop that opens onto the street. Courtyard. The courtyard serves as a multi-purpose area, and is the center of all activities: cooking / food preparation (drying and grinding spices, washing utensils, etc.), laundry, social activities, and so on. There is a semi-covered space at the back end of the courtyard, which serves as the kitchen. Also along the back wall are the toilet and an open storage area. Title/ Ownership. Elizabeth said that the title for this property is in the name of her uncle and her deceased grandmother. She does not know the exact nature of the “title”; “it’s with the uncle’s family,” she says. When asked how they acquired the property, she said she is not aware of the details since it was a long time ago, believes they paid something. Property Tax. The resident families pay property taxes: a total of 150K cedis per year split in 4 parts.

Top: Main façade of the house, from the main access road Below: Alleyway on the side of the house, used to service the toilet Physical Infrastructure

Electricity. The house has electricity supply. Two meters are installed to split the cost. The average payment per month for Sarah’s household is 20K cedis per month. Water. There is a standpipe in the plot, but the supply had been temporarily disconnected at the time of the interview due to non-payment. The typical bill is 50-60K cedis per month, which is split into 4 equal parts. Sanitation. The toilet is a pan-and-bucket system, used by all the households on the property. It is serviced by the Accra Municipal Authority (AMA): the bucket is accessed and emptied every 3 days through a hole in the back wall which opens into a service alley. Sarah foots to entire cost of this service, which is 60K cedis per month. Social Services Education. There is a public secondary school at walking distance from the house. Healthcare. The General Hospital is 1 km from the house. A private clinic is located 0.5 km away, which charges 17.5K cedis for consultation. “But we have to pay additional for the drugs, which are often quite expensive. That is what makes the treatment very costly.” The government is introducing a health scheme which Sarah is interested in enrolling for.

Recreation. There are no recreational facilities in the area. Due to the extremely dense layout, there is little space for children to even play out in the open. Sarah expressed most concern about the need for a park for children. Income and Expenditure Wages. Sarah’s regular income from her full-time job as a nurse at the hospital is 1.5M cedis/ month. Remittance. Sarah’s son remits money occasionally based on his availability and their need: there is no fixed amount. Family assistance. Sarah’s siblings also contribute towards her mother’s upkeep: last year she received some 500K cedis for her mother’s expenses (approx. 50K cedis per month).

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Major expense items Exp. / month (cedis)

Exp. / capita per month (cedis)

as % of major expense items (1550K cedis)

as % of income (1550K cedis)

Food 1200K 200K 77 77Electricity 20K 3K 1 1Water 15K 3K 1 1Sanitation 60K 10K 4 4Education 0K 0K 0 0Health 5K 1K 0 0Housing 0K 0K 0 0Other 84K 42K 16 16Remittance 0K 0K 0 0

Savings 0K 0Top: Bath area along the back wall of the courtyard Below: Semi-covered cooking space in the courtyard

Savings and Loans Sarah has access to loan from her employer, by virtue of her compulsory savings account (also sponsored by the employer), but has not used the facility so far. There are other informal savings groups,” she says, “but by the time I am done contributing at my workplace, I have no additional surplus left. And my mother is not employed.” In other words, Sarah is not interested in borrowing. However, her sister is building a house outside the city, and needs money to complete the construction. She was working earlier as a meat/fish vendor, but now cannot walk the long distance due to age. She now sells only sugarcane, in bulk, which fetches very little money. Six months ago, she signed up for the Homeless People’s Federation savings scheme. She has been contributing 2K cedis every day, but is not yet eligible for a loan. She is interested in getting a house completion loan. General Perceptions

On selling the house: Elizabeth says that she is not interested because one, it is ancestral property. “And two, there are too many owners, and it is very difficult to get everyone to speak with one voice.” On home improvement: The house was recently re-roofed, the cost being borne by the uncle. They would like to make many more improvements – such as changing the windows, building a proper toilet, and paving the courtyard – but “there is no extra money. We will do it bit by bit, using the remittance money and our savings. The problem is that not every owner can contribute, so others have to take the additional burden, which makes it difficult.”

Top: Sarah preparing the family meal as we interviewed her Below: Members of the family who chimed in during the interview

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Leticia Adams

Leticia is 88 years old, and lives with her son, Nii Okai, and great grandHer main source of income is water/ ice vending, from which she earnmechanic, but has been unemployed since his retrenchment in 1992. Sas a goods supplier: he takes orders, buys wholesale and tail. Hon average, but there are several months when he does n any

This property came to Leticia’s from her deceased hus familyaddition, she inherited one room in her own ancestral fam se, aNii for sleeping. “There is not enough room here for all of saysus, but goes to the other house to sleep.” Background Leticia was born and raised in Jamestown, and has lived i ouse a HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS

HoH (Leticia Adams) 88 years W sale (

Son (Nii Okai) 59 years Self-employed (in

Great grand daughter 5 years -

NON RESIDENT FAMILY MEMBERS WITH CLOSE TIES

Daughter (+ family) 72 years Based in London

Son (+ family) 70 years Based in USA

Daughter (+ family) 75 years Based in Tema, G OTHER HOUSEHOLDS ON PLOT Leticia said there were 6 other households on the plot, with 2-3 personthe details. Housing and Land The structure. The main building is a 2-story rectangular block madback is a single-story block constructed with plastered mud blocks, andin this block. Courtyard. The courtyard serves as a multi-purpose area, and is thpreparation (drying and grinding spices, washing utensils, etc.), laundry

daughter in one room of a family house. s some 3-4K cedis per day. Nii, 59, is a ince then he has been working part-time is income is some 100K cedis per month money.

(she was widowed 45 years back). In lso in Jamestown, which is now used by . “He spends the day here, and eats with

ll of her life.

informal) Income: 1000K cedis/m

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formal) Income: 100K cedis/m

-

Remits GBP20-50/yr

Remits $400-500/ yr

hana - Leticia Adams, an 88-year old head of household

Female-headed HH | 1 single mother, 1 single father Household income: 1145K cedis/ month Household size: 3 No. of households on plot: 7 No. of persons on plot: 21 No. of rooms on plot: 7 No. of rooms used by this household: 1 Toilet: None. Use public toilet Water: Private standpipe in courtyard Commercial use within premises: Sale of ice/water

s per household, but she was not sure of

e of permanent materials. Towards the a corrugated iron roof. Leticia’s room is

e centre of all activities: cooking / food , and social activities.

Title/ Ownership. Neither Leticia nor Nii were sure about the title, but the property is in the name of Nii’s grandfather who built this house. They said, “There is no real title for this property, but ownership is traditionally recognized.

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Nii owns another plot 140 x 100 ft some 9 miles from this house. He bought it from the Chief in 1982 for a sum of 16M cedis, and pays 240K cedis annually as ground rent. He showed us the 99-year lease document for the property. He said he has not been able to build there so far due to lack of funds. Property Tax. They pay property tax, some 150K per year, which is equally shared by the 6 resident households. Physical Infrastructure Electricity. There are six electricity meters installed in the plot; each household pays a separate bill. The average payment per month for Leticia’s household is 100K cedis per month which is relatively high, possibly due to the refrigerator she uses to freeze and sell water. Water. There is a standpipe in the plot, but the supply is not regular. When there is water, they sell at 300 cedis/bucket (25 liters). The typical water bill is 200K cedis per month, of which roughly half is consumed by the households (20 buckets/day), and the other half is sold. Sanitation. There is no toilet in the compound. The families use the public toilet provided by AMA which is connected to the main sewer lines. It costs 700 cedis per use, which adds up to some 70-100K cedis per month. “There is always a long queue outside, particularly in the mornings,” says Nii. “We’ve considered building the pan-and-bucket system in the house, but it is not permitted by the AMA anymore. They say it is ‘dehumanizing’.” Income and Expenditure Wages. None. Remittance. Leticia’s children send her money from abroad: her son in the US remits some $500 annually, and her daughter in London sends some GBP50 annually. This comes to an average of 45K cedis/ month. Self-employment. Leticia’s water/ ice sale business fetches her about 1000K cedis/ month. Nii’s income is roughly 100K cedis/ month. Major expense items Exp. / month

(cedis) Exp. / capita per

month (cedis) as % of major expense items (1145K cedis)


Food 900K 300K 79 79Electricity 100K 33K 9 9Water 70K 23K 6 6

Top: Alley leading to the entrance to the courtyard house Below: View of house from the courtyard. Leticia occupies 1 room on the right

Savings and Loans Neither Leticia nor Nii are part of any savings or credit scheme. When asked about the susu system, Nii commented, “They are not honest or sincere. I’ve had a bad experience in the past: one of the collectors ran off with my brother’s money, 80K cedis.” Asked if he would be interested in a formal sector loan, such as the HFC market women’s scheme, he answered in the affirmative but said he had not heard about them until now. The primary intention for borrowing would be to expand his business, and possibly improve the house. Leticia saves money at home. She is not interested in taking a loan because, she says, “I don’t want to pass on the burden to my children.”

Sanitation 70K 23K 6 6Education 0K 0K 0 0Health 0K 0K 0 0Housing 0K 0K 0 0Other 5K 2K 0 0Remittance 0K 0K 0 0

Savings 0K 0

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General Perceptions On home improvement: Lack of space is a major constraint, according to Nii, which is why families have to split up. “We want to build another floor on this building, but cannot because of money constraints. To make any improvements, all residents need to agree and contribute, and that makes it rather complicated.”

Top: Other residents of the family house preparing food for sale Below: Nii (left), Leticia, her granddaughter, and a relative (right)

Marianna Tetteh

Marianna is 70, and divorced. She cooks and sells banku (a staple pomakes about 60K cedis/ day. She has two children, both single with chand a daughter who is unemployed but currently helping Marianna runher son’s income, but says he contributes about 100K cedis/ month towfour children, 2 boys and 2 girls, two of whom live with other relativesand 2 boys; one girl and one boy live with other relatives. All five grandc She shares the plots with 4 cousins and their families, and a host of nresidents on the plot is 39. Background Marianna was born and raised in Jamestown, and has lived in this hous HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS HoH (Marianna Tetteh) 70 years Food vendor (

Daughter 45 years Cook, HoH’s b

Grandson (daughter’s child) 7 years Student

Granddaughter (daughter’s child) 7 years Student

Granddaughter (daughter’s child) 9 years Student

Son 48 years Carpenter

Grandson (son’s child) 11 years Student

Granddaughter (son’s child) 8 years Student


Grandson (son’s child) 16 years Living with rela

Granddaughter (son’s child) 14 years Living with rela

Grandson (daughter’s child) 14 years Living with rela

Granddaughter (daughter’s child) 11 years Living with rela

OTHER HOUSEHOLDS ON PLOT 1 Cousin Widow and head of HH, living with grandson

2 Sister Single, living with 2 grandsons

rridge dish) for a living, from which she ildren: a son who works as a carpenter,

the banku business. She does not know ards household expenses. The son has . The daughter has five children, 3 girls hildren living here attend school.

ieces and nephews: the total number of

e all of her life.

informal) Income: 1.8M cedis/m

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usiness -

-

-

Contributes 100K/m to HH -

-

tives -

tives -

tives -

tives -

Marianna Tetteh, a 70-year old head of household

Female-headed HH | 2 single mothers, 1 single father Household income: 1900K cedis Household size: 8 No. of households on plot: 6 No. of persons on plot: 40 No. of rooms on plot: 8 No. of rooms used by this household: 1 Toilet: None (use public toilet) Water: None on plot (buy from neighbour) Commercial use: Banku business in a shed in front of bldg

1 room; 2 residents

1 room; 3 residents

3 Cousin Single, living with 4 g children 1 room; 5 residents

4 Cousin Living with wife and 4 ldren 2 rooms; 6 residents

5 Misc 10 nephews / nieces other cousins, and their 6 children 2 rooms; 16 residents

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Housing and Land The Structure. The main building is a 2-s L-shaped block made of plastered brick and a tin roof. Marianne’s household occupies one of the 8 rooms in house. Courtyard. The courtyard serves as a m i-purpose area, and is the center of all activities: cooking / food preparation (drying and grinding spices, w ing utensils, etc.), laundry, and social activities. Title/ Ownership. The plot is in the name Marianne’s grandfather, the original head of the household. There is no paper trail for property inheritance, a Marianne is not aware of any title deed per se, but there has never been a dispute so far. “It’s all based on ognition and understanding,” she says. “If there is a problem, the head of the household intervenes.” Property Tax. They pay property taxes, b Marianne is not sure of the exact amount “because it varies every year,” she says. The total tax amount is ded by the number of rooms and paid accordingly. When asked if she understood what the taxes entitled he , her response was: “It is payment for land which we have used to build the house, an obligation for all Ghanthe taxes get pocketed by corrupt officials Physical Infrastructure Electricity. The house has electricity supper month. Water. There is no water connection on tbucket. “We don’t have the money to get to pay the bribes so they come do the joblot more.” (Compare 20 cedis per litre thabuckets a day; hence, their monthly expen Sanitation. There is no toilet or bath in thbut often crowded, particularly in the mornhow much she spends per month on toilethe monthly expenditure on the toilet alonchildren use the toilets in the school. [We Income and Expenditure

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aians. We are not entitled to any services in return. Besides, most of , so there’s not much left for any services anyway.”

Top: A view of the courtyard from the entrance gate Below: Members of the family helping peel maize for Marianna’s banku business

ply. The average bill per month for Marianne’s household is 50K cedis

he plot. The households buy water from a neighbour at 400 cedis per a connection,” says Marianne. “It’s not just the basic fee, one has also quickly. Instead we buy it from our neighbour, even though we pay a t she pays versus 7 cedis for water from a pipe.) They use some 10 diture on water is about 120K cedis.

e plot. All the households use the public toilet AMA, which is “clean, ings,” she says. They pay 700 cedis per use. She could not estimate t usage, but if we were to assume even one visit per day per person, e is 168K cedis. Sometimes the expense might be lower because the will assume it to be 100K cedis/ month in the calculations below.]

Wages. None. Remittance. None Family assistance. None. Self-employment. Marianne’s business fe ches her some is 1.8M cedis/ month, and her son contributes 100K cedis towards household expenses.

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Savings and Loans Marianne contributes 5K cedis daily (20 da5K (1 day’s savings equivalent). At the enbulk for the banku business. She had anconvenient. The banks do not open on weeweek to collect the deposits.” She was notwhen we told her about it, she expressed k General Perceptions On home improvement: Asked why people in this neighbourhood d“This is all family property, with extremecomplications of who does what and who and build from scratch somewhere else.”

Major expense items Exp. / month (ced s)




Food 150 K 188K 83 79Electricity 50 6K 3 3Water 120K 15K 7 6Sanitation 100K 13K 6 5Education 0K 0K 0 0Health 0K 0K 0 0Housing 0K 0K 0 0Other 30 4K 2 2Remittance 0K 0K 0 0

Savings 100

Top: Open space in the courtyard for cooking, washing

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ys a month) to her monthly susu account. For this, she pays a fee of d of the month, when she uses the money to buy stock/ supplies in account at Barclays, she says, but closed it because “it was not kends. In contrast, these susu collectors come to us every day of the aware of schemes targeted to informal sector businesswomen, and een interest to join.

o not make an effort to improve their homes, Marianne responded: ly fragmented ownership. Rather than getting mixed up with the pays what, once people have the resources, they simply move out

K 5 Below: Marianna’s daughter at work with her banku business just outside the compound

Manti Ayikai

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Manti is a widow who lives with her 85-year old mother and 14 children: 7 of her own, and 7 from her deceased sister. The husband of the deceased sister is a fisherman and lives in Jamestown; he provides occasional child support for his 7 children. With so many members in the household, and only 2 rooms, several of the children go to the Chief’s palace next doors to sleep at night. The plot is shared with 4 other families. Manti runs a small business with her mother: they buy pigs in the rural areas, bring them to the city for slaughter, and cook the meat and sell it locally. They do not have space for a refrigerator, or the money, so they typically store the extra meat in a neighbour’s fridge at 5K cedis per day. From this business, they earn some 300K per month. In addition, they sell water from their private standpipe, which fetches them some 150K per month in profit. Background Manti was born and raised in Jamestown. Apart from her married years when her husband was alive, she has lived in this house all of her life. HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS Mother/ HoH (Rebecca Ayikai Aryeetey) 85 years

Manti Ayikai 44 years Food vendor / water vendor(informal) Income: 450K cedis/m

Son 26 years Unemployed No income

Daughter 22 years Unemployed No income

Daughter 19 years School dropout -

Son 17 years Student -

Daughter 14years Student -

Daughter 11years Student -

Daughter 8 years Student -

Nephew (from deceased sister) 26 years Unemployed No income


Nephew (from deceased sister) 20years Unemployed No income


Niece (from deceased sister) 17 years Student -

Nephew (from deceased sister) 12 years Student -

Manti (right) with her mother, Rebecca

Female headed household | 2 single mothers Household income: 750K cedis / month Household size: 16 No. of households on plot: 5 No. of persons on plot: 33 No. of rooms on plot: 6 No. of rooms used by this household: 2 Toilet: None. Use public toilet Water: Private standpipe in courtyard Commercial use within premises: Sale of water


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Nephew (from deceased sister) 10 years Student -


Sister 1 65 years Lives with family in Ghana Remits 100K/m

Sister 2 52 years Lives with family in Ghana -




Brother-in-law (deceased sister’s husband) 60 years Fisherman Provides occasional child support for his 7 kids

1 Cousin Living with her 6 children; husband sleeps in another house 1 room; 7 residents

2 Cousin Living with his 3 children; wife sleeps in her family house 1 room; 4 residents

3 Cousin Widow, living with 3 grandchildren 1 room; 4 residents

4 Cousin Living with husband 1 room; 2 residents

Top: View of the structure from the courtyard Below: Manti doing the laundry in the courtyard while being interviewed

Housing and Land The structure. There are several semi-connected structures on the plot. The main building is single story, made of permanent materials. Manti’s family lives in an adjacent block made of plastered mud blocks. A small outdoor space serves as the washing/ cooking area, and also has the water standpipe. Title/ Ownership. Manti says there is no official document to prove ownership of the individual structures on the plot, but the head of the family does have a title deed to the plot. He does not live here. Property Tax. They pay property tax, some 170K per year, of which Manti’s household share is about 15K cedis. Her assumption is that the property must certainly be “registered” since they pay taxes. Physical Infrastructure Electricity. They have electricity, but the service has been disconnected for the past 6 months due to lack of payment. They currently owe 1 million cedis, having recently paid off 500K. Water. There is a standpipe in the plot, but the supply is not regular. When there is water, they sell at 300 cedis/bucket (25 liters), which is roughly a 100 percent profit (cost of piped water is 7 cedis/ liter). The typical water bill is 200K cedis per month (equivalent to some 40 buckets per day), of which roughly a quarter is consumed by the household (10 buckets/day); the rest is sold, making an average profit of 150K cedis per month from water sale.

Sanitation. There is no toilet in the com und. The families use the public toilet provided by AMA which is connected to the main sewer lines. It co ts 700 cedis per use. Assuming even one visit per day by each member, this adds up to some 330K cedi per month. Manti says the children often use the school toilet, and the adults use the facility once in 2 days so, so they don’t spend that much. Still, she says, “it is extremely expensive. When the colonial masters wer here, it was free. Now this government wants to charge a fee.” The public shower also costs money – 500 ce is per use. “We don’t use the showers; we just shower in the yard here.” Social Services Schools. There is a public secondary sch ol at walking distance from the house. “Primary education is free, and the facilities are okay,” says Manti. Healthcare. Rebecca says the medical fa lities are “adequate, but a little expensive. We pay 8K just to get a prescription, and then one has to cover th extra costs of the medicines, which are quite expensive. This past year, we spent over 1 million cedis on med al care. There are 14 children, you know, many of them little ones, and then there is me – I am old. When we n out of money, we have family and friends who come to our aid.”

Income and Expenditure Wages. None. Remittance. 200K cedis/ month from siste Family assistance. The father of the 7 “ad100K per month on average. When in nassistance (roughly equivalent to 100K per Self-employment. Total income from the b Rebecca says, “We are poor, otherwise others. Still, I can say we are better off tha Major expense items Exp. /

(ced

Food 48Electricity 0Water 50Sanitation 65Education 0Health 0

Top: Unpaved access road to the house, just behind the grey structure in the

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r.

opted” children contributes occasionally towards their upkeep, about eed of additional money or food, the head of the family provides month).

usiness and water sales is approximately 450K cedis per month.

we would have been able to pay our basic bills without help from n many others here: I am poor but I have respect in the community.”

month is)




5K 30K 81 65 K 0K 0 0

K 3K 8 7 K 4K 11 9

K 0K 0 0 K 0K 0 0

picture Below: A view of one of the rooms from the inside

Savings and Loans Manti has a susu account where she contr utes 5K cedis per day. At the end of each month, she withdraws the money and invests it into the pork busine s. When asked why she does not open a savings account instead where she can avoid the monthly fee and arn interest, she responded, “I don’t have enough to open a savings account in a bank; they typically require a minimum balance of 500K cedis, which I don’t have. And I don’t like to keep the money in the house because I ill be tempted to spend it. It’s critical that I save every day: that’s the only way I can save.” She would be interested in taking a loan, she says, “to expand the business,” she says, “not for home improvement. I would rather earn the money from the business and make the necessary home improvements.” General Perceptions On home improvement:

Housing 0 0K 0 0Other 0 0K 0 0Remittance 0 0K 0 0

Savings 15 K 20

3 Manti would like to see a bigger, better h use, but her primary concern is the lack of a toilet. She says, “The approvals for renovation/ improvement/ adonly time-consuming and difficult, it is alsohave that kind of money to invest.”

Top: An inscription at the entrance of another relative’s room… interesting in

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ditions to the building require too many approvals. The process is not very costly. In addition, the cost of construction is high, and we don’t

light of the fact that he does not get along with Manti’s family. Below: Manti’s two younger girls, ready for school

Caroline Thompson

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Caroline is a 67-year old widow who occupies one room of a family house shared with 9 other households. She had 6 children, two of whom are deceased; the others live in other parts of Accra. Caroline lives with 3 grandchildren – two girls, 15 and 12 years old, from one daughter, and a boy of 8 from another daughter – in 1 of the 7 rooms in this family house. The children attend school here because schools are not good where their parents live; they visit their parents on the weekends. Caroline is unemployed; she was a petty trader until a few years back. She now relies on remittance income from her daughters: 500K and 300K cedis per month respectively. Background Caroline was born and raised in Jamestown, and has lived in this house, her family house, all of her life. HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS HoH (Caroline Thompson) 67 years Unemployed No income

Grand daughter 15 years Student -

Grand daughter 12 years Student -

Grand son 8 years Student -


Son 1 50 years Lives with family in Accra -

Son 2 41 years Lives with family in Accra -

Daughter 1 35 years Lives with family in Accra Contributes 500K cedis/ m

Daughter 2 31 years Lives with family in Accra Contributes 300K cedis/ m Caroline Thompson, a 67-year old caretaker of 3 grandchildren

Female headed household | 1 single mother Household income: 800K cedis/ month Household size: 4 No. of households on plot: 10 No. of persons on plot: 30 No. of rooms on plot: 14 No. of rooms used by this household: 1 Toilet: None. Use public toilet. (2 shower areas on plot) Water: Buy from neighbour Commercial use within premises: none

OTHER HOUSEHOLDS ON PLOT 1 Cousin Widow, living with her 2 grandchildren 1 room; 3 residents

2 Cousin Divorced, living with her 3 grandchildren 1 room; 4 residents

3 Cousin Living with her 4 children and 1 grandchild; husband away in Lagos 2 rooms; 6 residents

4 Cousin Widower, living alone 1 room; 1 resident

5 Cousin Widower, living with 4 children 1 room; 5 residents

6 Renter Room owned by cousin, occupied by a male renter. Rent: 20K/ m. 1 room; 1 resident

7 Renter Room owned by cousi , occupied by a male renter. Rent: 40K/ m. 1 room; 1 resident

8 Renter 4 single men sharing t o rooms. Rent: 80K/ m. 2 room; 4 residents

9 Renter Room owned by cousi , occupied by a male renter. Rent: 20K/ m. 1 room; 1 resident There are three more rooms owned by oth r cousins, but currently lying vacant. Housing and Land The structure. The house is a 2-story str cture, located adjacent to the Chief’s palace near the main access road into the settlement. The lower level i built with permanent materials, and the upper story made of wood and tin sheets. Caroline and her grandchild en occupy one modestly-sized room on the ground level. Title/ Ownership. Caroline says there is n official document to prove ownership of the individual structures on the plot, but the head of the family has a tit deed to the plot. He does not live here. Physical Infrastructure

Electricity. There is a common meter in th plot; the bill is shared by all the resident households, based on the number of “points” they have. The total bill omes to 700K cedis per month of which Caroline’s average share is 30K cedis/ m.

Top: A view of the house from the street Water. There is no water connection on thThey consume some 7 buckets per day, cedis. Sanitation. There is no toilet in the comconnected to the main sewer lines. It costs125K cedis (@ 1-1.5 times per person per Social Services Schools. There is a public secondary schand the facilities are okay,” says Caroline. Healthcare. According to Caroline, the mprivate clinics, and they are affordable.” Income and Expenditure Remittance. None. Family assistance. Caroline’s two daught

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Below: The courtyard, used commonly by all resident households for their daily chores

e plot. Caroline buys water from a neighbour at 300 cedis / bucket. bringing the average monthly expenditure on water to be about 60K

pound. The families use the public toilet provided by AMA which is 700 cedis per use. Caroline estimates a rough monthly cost of 100-day).

ool at walking distance from the house. “Primary education is free,

edical facilities in the area are adequate. “We have both public and

ers send her a total average of about 800K per month.

Self-employment. None.

Savings and Loans

Caroline is not a member of any savings s e. She is sceptical about the susu schemes because they might run away with her money.

Major expense items Exp. / h (ce




Food 60 150K 75 75Electricity 30 8K 4 4Water 60 15K 8 8Sanitation 10 25K 13 13Education 0 0K 0 0Health 0 0K 0 0Housing 0 0K 0 0Other 10 3K 1 1Remittance 0 0K 0 0

Savings 0 0

Top: Another view of the courtyard Comparing herself to others in the commufinances, and I can at least get the things Iinvest into a business and reap the bene“What if I can’t pay back? I am scared I because I have no job, and no collateral. are cumbersome and time-consuming… month!” General Perceptions On home improvement: “I would like to build a toilet, but Town Coutoilet. And I don’t have the money to build improvements to the house because the people need to first be brought together, a On resettlement: Asked what she thought of moving out of“No, the family house is important. It is cubecause they want to but rather because o

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Below: Open drain (constructed by the local residents) channelling wastewater away from the building... into the street

nity, she says, “I am better off than many others: I have clothing, food, really need. Still, it would be good to get some financial assistance to fits.” Her attitude towards taking a loan is one of cautioned interest: will get into trouble if I can’t pay back. In any event, I can’t get one The house can’t be used there is no proper title. Besides, the loans and expensive – with interest rates in the range of 50 percent per

ncil regulations do not permit the construction of the pan-and bucket anything more elaborate. Similarly, we haven’t been able to make any permits etc. take too much time and money. Not only that, too many nd then be made to agree on how to proceed.”

this place into a “better” house somewhere else, her response was, stomary to live here. Even those who leave eventually, they leave not f lack of choice…. even the younger ones.”

Margaret Amoah

Margaret’s household comprises her mother and two children, but she shares her accommodation—one room in a family house—with her 4 sisters and their children, totalling 16 persons. [They have been termed a household here in the loose sense of the word, because although they share the room and contribute occasionally towards common expenses, they do not in principle share the income.] Margaret is married, but her husband lives in his own family house in Jamestown for lack of space.

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Of particular interest is the fact that only 3 members of this 16-member household are males, and all of the 7 other households on this plot—Margaret’s cousins and their families—are women-headed. In all, on the plot, there is a total of 9 males (among whom only 2 are older than 18 years), and 31 females. Margaret runs a small home-based food business. She cooks banku in a temporary shed outside the house, and takes it to the street side where she sells it on a stall. She is assisted in this work by her sisters, and her share of the profit is about 300K per month, but this is in addition to the food consumed by the family (estimated at roughly 500K). Background Margaret was born and raised in Jamestown, and has lived in this house, her family house, all of her life. HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS

Mother/ HoH (Lucy Adotey) 65 years Unemployed No income

Margaret Amoah 48 years Cook/ food vendor Profit: 300K cedis/m

Son 20 years Unemployed -

Daughter 13 years Student -

OTHER MEMBERS OF THE ‘HOUSEHOLD’ SHARING THE SAME ROOM, BUT SEPARATE INCOME/ EXPENSES

Sister 1 45 years Widow, living alone

Sister 2 42 years Divorced, living with 4 of her 6 children. The two older boys, 25 and 23 live elsewhere.

Nephew (from sister 2) 17 years School dropout; unemployed

Nephew (from sister 2) 13 years Student, primary school

Niece (from sister 2) 11 years Student, primary school


Margaret at work, cooking banku…

Female-headed household | 4 single mothers, 2 mothers married but living separately Household income: 1100K cedis/ month Household size: 4 (+12= 16) No. of households on plot: 8 (+4=12) No. of persons on plot: 40 (9 males + 31 females)No. of rooms on plot: 8 No. of rooms used by this household: 1 Toilet: None. Use public toilet. Water: Buy from neighbour Commercial use within premises: Shed for banku business outside the house

Sister 3 35 years Married; Husband lives in another family houses in Jamestown. Helps Margaret with her food business.


Niece (from sister 3) 9 year Student, primary school

Sister 4 32 years Unemployed, single, and currently pregnant with her third child.


Niece (from sister 4) 9 year Student, primary school

NON RESIDENT FAMILY MEMBERS WITH CL SE TIES

Husband 55 years Lives in his family house in Jamestown

Contributes 300K cedis /m towards expenses

Son 30 years Mechanic; Lives elsewhere in Accra -

Sister 5 52 years Lives elsewhere in Accra with family -



8 Top: A view of the front façade of the house OTHER HOUSEHOLDS ON PLOT 1 Cousin Widow, living with one

2 Cousin Living with her brother

3 Cousin Living with her sister

4 Cousin Living with her mother

5 Cousin Living with her 4 childr

6 Cousin Living with her daught

7 Cousin Living with her 3 childr Housing and Land The structure. The house is a 2-story strroad into the settlement. The lower level iand tin sheets. Margaret’s 16-member houused for storing their belongings; most of th Title/ Ownership. The head of the familyAccra. Margaret is unsure of the type or te Physical Infrastructure

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Below: A wide paved area in front of the house, used for daily outdoor activities, including cooking, washing, etc, and even sleeping at night

daughter 1 room; 2 residents

and her daughter 1 room; 3 residents

1 room; 2 residents

and 3 sisters 1 room; 4 residents

en (3M+1F) and 2 granddaughters 1 room; 7 residents

er 1 room; 2 residents

en (2M+1M) 1 room; 4 residents

ucture, located adjacent to the Chief’s palace near the main access s built with permanent materials, and the upper story made of wood sehold occupies one room on the ground level. The room is mainly em sleep outdoors on the porch.

, in whose name the plot is, lives in Agege, another settlement in rms of the title or registration.

Electricity. There is a common meter in the plot; the bill is shared by all the resident households, based on the number of “points” they have. The total bill comes to 500K cedis per month of which Margaret’s average share is 10K cedis/ m.

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Water. There is no water connection on the plot. They buy water from a neighbour at 300 cedis / bucket. They consume some 7 buckets per day, bringing the average monthly expenditure on water to be about 60K cedis. “We know we are paying much more than we should be, but getting an individual water connection is very expensive,” says Margaret. Sanitation. There is no toilet in the compound. The families use the public toilet provided by AMA which is connected to the main sewer lines. It costs 700 cedis per use. Margaret estimates that her household (16 members) spends some 7K cedis per day on toilet usage, which amounts to some 200K per month. However, her own share—for her mother, kids, and herself—of expenses would be about 50K per month. Social Services Schools. “The schools here are good,” says Margaret. “They are close-by, and free up to the primary school level; all the children attend schools.” Healthcare. Margaret says the medical facilities are very expensive. “The consultation fee—which they charge even before they treat you—is prohibitive. Unanticipated medical expenses are difficult to cater for; in times of difficulty, we have to seek the assistance of family members.” Income and Expenditure Wages. None. Remittance. None. Family assistance. Margaret’s husband contributes about 300K towards expenses. Self-employment. Margaret’s share of the profits from her banku business is about 300K per month plus an estimated 500K equivalent in food. Major expense items Exp. / month




Food 500K 125K 64 45Electricity 25K 6K 3 2Water 60K 15K 8 5Sanitation 50K 13K 6 5Education 0K 0K 0 0Health 0K 0K 0 0

Margaret cooking banku (above) as she talks to us, on a smoky wood- fire (below)… extremely hard work!

Savings and Loans Margaret has been a member of the Sinapi savings schem nearly a year now. She has already taken two loans to expand her business: the first was 1 million cedis she has paid off, and the second is 2.5 million for 5 months which she is currently repaying (145K per th), in addition to 20K cedis as a compulsory savings deposit. She currently has some 500K cedis saved r account. She says she can withdraw anytime, but prefers to “save for her youngest child to go to school.” She also contributes 10K per day in a susu account. “Unlik Sinapi which is strict and businesslike, the susu is purely voluntary. I do it when I have surplus money,” she . General Perceptions On home improvement:

“I would like to build a toilet. Having your own toilet, howe sic, is better than using a public toilet. But our grandfather did not build one when he constructed this h Now there are too many people to reach any agreement on renovation decisions.” On resettlement: “I would like to move. There’s no point trying to make the make enough money, I will build a house elsewhere. I documentation or collateral.”

Housing 0K 0 0Other (loan repayment) 145K 19 13 Remittance 0K 0 0

Savings 320K 29

e for which mon in he

e the says

ver baouse.

0K36K0K

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improvements here…too many complications. Once I would be interested in a loan, but I don’t have any

Public toilets used by Margaret’s family, about 7 minutes walk from her house…. Top: A series of compartments with pit latrines lined up along a corridor with cane baskets to dispose of the waste Below: A view of the pit latrine in one of the compartments

Hamid Gerand

Hamid lives in his family house with his wife and 4 children, his mothfamilies. He is a university graduate, and an Arabic teacher by profRegion; he commutes back and forth during the school term. He is awho still lives in Nima; most others have moved out and rented out th Background Hamid was born and raised here in this family house. HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS Hamid Gerand (HoH) 56 years Teacher (formal)

Wife 35 years Shop-owner (prov

Daughter (from 1st wife) 26 years Apprentice, tailori

Son 1 (from 1st wife) 16 years

Son 2 (from 1st wife) 12 years

Son 3 5 years

Students

OTHER HOUSEHOLDS ON PLOT 1 Mother Single, lives alone

2 Brother 1 Lives with wife and 2 children

3 Brother 2 Lives with wife

4 Brother 3 Lives with wife and 2 children

5 Misc 5 grandchildren from other siblings/ cousins Housing and Land The structure. This is a family house, with 11 rooms. Hamid’s horooms); 5 rooms are occupied by each of the “households” listed abo1 is vacant, for visitors; and 1 is rented out to a store-owner (for 200entrance houses two small stalls, also on rent. The plot has two bath Title/ Ownership. Hamid says they have had a “yellow card” from tfor over 10 years. “That is the first stage of the property registrationthe formal title.”

er, and three brothers and their respective ession, currently employed in the Eastern mong the few owners of the family houses eir houses.

Income: 2600K cedis/m

isions) Income: 900K cedis/m

ng -

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-

1 room; 1 resident

1 room; 4 residents

1 room; 2 residents

1 room; 4 residents

1 room; 5 residents

Hamid, an Arabic teacher working in the university

usehold occupies a chamber-and-hall (2 ve; 2 rooms are designated prayer rooms;

K cedis/m), as a shop. The space near the cubicles. Cooking is done outdoors.

Male headed HH Household income:3800K cedis/ month Household size: 6 No. of households on plot: 6 No. of persons on plot: 22 No. of rooms on plot: 7 No. of rooms used by this household: 2 Toilet:: None. Use public toilet Water: Standpipe on plot, but water supply irregular, so frequently buy from neighbouring settlement Commercial use: Two food stalls and a shop on rent

he title office, which is permission to build, process. However, we have still to collect

He owns a serviced plot 80ft x 115 ft, in Kasua, a one-hour drive from here. He bought the plot 3 years ago from the Chief for 3 million cedis. “I have an indenture,” he says, “but no title.” He has started constructing a 3-room house with a bath/toilet and kitchen, spending about 1.5 million cedis every 3-4 months. “We will move there when it is complete and use this place as a weekend home.” Physical Infrastructure Electricity. There is one meter for electricity for all the households on the plot. The bill, typically about 200K cedis per month, is shared by the number of “points”. Hamid’s share is about 100K cedis. Water. There is a water standpipe in the plot, but the supply is erratic, says Hamid. “Sometimes we don’t have water for 3 months in a stretch. We have to talk for an hour to the nearest water point. Sometimes we take a taxi (30-40K per ride). For example, now we don’t have water in the pipes, and it’s been like that for 3 weeks.” Purchased water costs 1000K cedis per bucket; Hamid’s family buys 28 buckets every 2 weeks for cooking and drinking, and an additional 2 buckets a day for bathing. This costs about 120K cedis per month plus about 150K in transportation costs.

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Sanitation. There is no toilet in the house. They use the AMA-provided facility, for 400 cedis per use. “Often there are long queues, sometimes with more than 15-20 people waiting. It’s particularly difficult during the rush hour! The Youth Club here wants to build more toilets, but the AMA won’t allocate them land or permission to do it. They say the current landlords won’t permit it.” Assuming a conservative figure of 1.5 visits to the public toilet per person per day, the monthly expenditure comes to about 110K cedis.

Top: View of the structure with the 2 rooms occupied by Hamid’s family Below: Title deed to Hamid’s recently purchased land in another area in Accra

Solid waste. Hamid says that previously someone would come and collect the garbage from the house every 2-3 days. It cost 200K per collection. “That’s stopped now, so we take our garbage to the AMA container now, about 4-5 bags per day.” Income and Expenditure Wages. Hamid earns a salary of 2.6 million cedis per month from his teaching job. Remittance. The family receives remittance from two sources: about $300-500 every 2 years or so from a friend in Saudi Arabia, and about $150 every quarter from an Imam/ preacher in Qatar (approximating about $70 per month, i.e. 600K cedis. Family assistance. None. Self-employment. Hamid’s wife earns about 200-250K cedis per day, roughly 600K per month. Rent from the stalls and shop is marginal, shared by all the households on the plot.

Savings and Loans




as % of income (3800K)

Food 2000K 333K 65 53Electricity 100K 17K 3 3Water 120K 20K 4 3Sanitation 110K 18K 4 3Education 50K 8K 2 1Health 0K 0K 0 0Housing 500K 83K 16 13Other (transportation) 220K 37K 7 6 Remittance 0K 0K 0 0

Savings 700K 18

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Hamid has a savings account in Ghana Commercial Bank, since 1994. His current balance is about 15 million cedis. He tries to put away about 500K every month into his savings. He also has another account with HFC, where he deposits 400-500K every 2 months.

Top: Street front outside Hamid’s house Below: Hamid (right) with his wife and son

He was dismissive about susu collectors, saying: “Those are for young people…!” He has access to loans, but does not want to borrow. General Perceptions On toilets and sanitation: Asked why people don’t build toilets for themselves, particularly people like himself who understand the underlying health and hygiene issues, and seemingly can afford to build one, his response was: “There are mostly renters here.. The landlords who don’t live here don’t care to build the toilets because the renters don’t necessarily demand it. Houses like ours, which are still occupied by the owners, have their own share of issues: There are too many “owners”, and it is difficult to get agreement. But increasingly, people are beginning to understand. We plan to build one now using AMA’s scheme, in which they send in their contractors to build a pit, and the households can pay in instalments of 200K-300K cedis per month. The total cost to build a pit latrine is about 10 million cedis.”

Maria Fuseni

Maria is an unemployed and sick widow with a large family, renting 5They have been living here for over 55 years now. The rent is 200K ceall, 6 of whom are deceased. Two boys died in a motor accident, twodue to some illness. She is now left with eight, five of whom live here, athe grandchildren (8 residing here) share 2 rooms along with her 36-yoccupied by two of her single sons (aged 37 and 34 years). The other sons and their spouses (see table below). In all, there are 15 residents

The other three rooms in the house are occupied by 3 other families, wmore than we do. Background Maria has lived in Accra most of her life. She moved to this house with kids and many of the grandchildren were born and raised here. HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS Maria Fuseni (HoH) 68 years Retired/ unemplo

Son 1 + 38 years Petty trader; cow-h

Daughter-in-law (from Son 1) 20 years Seamstress, unem

Grand daughter (from Son 1) 10 years

Grand son (from Son 1) 10 years Twins, from first wenrolled in school.

Grand daughter (from Son 1) 7 years Student

Grand son (from Son 1) 5 years Student

Grand daughter (from Son 1) 2 years -

Son 2 37 years Unemployed (plum

Daughter 1 36 years Palm nut vendor

Son 3 (separated from girlfriend) + 34 years Tailor, unemployesmall supply busin

Grand son (from Son 3) 2 years -

Son 4 + 30 years Petty trader (T-shicalendars)

Daughter-in-law (from Son 4) 28 years Hairdresser; Provi

of 8 rooms of a family house in Nima. dis per month. Maria had 14 children in

more died in a shoot-out, and two died long with many grandchildren. Maria and ear old single daughter. Another room is two rooms are occupied by the other two occupying these 5 rooms.

ith 3 members each, and they pay much

her husband when they got married. Her

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yed Income: None

erder Income: “some”

ployed Income: none

- ife. Not -

-

- -

ber, hunter) Income: “some”

Income: unknown d; currently ess Income: 100K/m

- rts, Income: 1500K cedis/m

sions’ vendor Income: 900K cedis/m

Maria, a 68-year old widow, and head of a 16-memberhousehod

Female-headed household | 1 single father Household income: 1280K cedis Household size: 15 No. of households on plot: 4 No. of persons on plot: 24 No. of rooms on plot: 7 No. of rooms used by this household: 5 Toilet: None. Use public toilet. Water: Buy from neighbour Commercial use: None.


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Grand son (from Daughter 2 in Togo) 20 years Unemployed Income: none


Son 5 50 years Living with Togolese wife in USA

Remits $200 every 6 months

Son 6 54 years Living with wife in another house in Accra -

Daughter 2 40 years Living in Togo with husband; son lives here Sends money occasionally

Grand son (from Son 4) -

Grand son (from Son 4)



Living with maternal grandparents in their family house in Accra

1 Renter Couple with 1 child 1 room; 3 residents

2

Renter Couple with 1 child 1 room; 3 residents

3 Renter Couple with 1 child 1 room; 3 residents Top: View of the small courtyard from the main entrance gate Below: The exterior of the house, from the access path

Housing and Land The structure. Part of the structure is built with unplastered concrete blocks, part with wood, and a tin roof. There is a courtyard where most of the household chores (cooking, washing) are done, and the cows are kept. The family occupies 5 of the 8 rooms on the plot. Land/ Title. Maria’s household pays a rent of 200K cedis per month for the 5 rooms. When they first occupied the place 55 years ago, they were paying some 0.04 cedis per month! Maria claims they have a good relationship with the original owner, who is now deceased. His family lives in central Accra. “They own a lot of properties, and are managing this one as well. They originally had 3 houses in Nima. They sold off 2, but have let this one be because of my poor health. They know we are poor and I am sick, and can’t go anywhere else, so they let us stay.” Maria also owns another plot of land (with a registered title) in Medina, 10 kms from here. “But,” she says, “we have no money to build a house there. We’ve built a 1-room structure, where someone stays to watch the land.” Physical Infrastructure Electricity. There is no electricity.

Water. Maria’s family buys water from their neighbour for 500 cedis per bucket when the water supply is good. At other times, they hire a taxi and bring water from another area close to the airport. The household uses about 6 buckets a day, which costs roughly 90K cedis per month. Sanitation. There is no toilet within the compound. The family uses public toilets, paying 400 cedis per use. Assuming that each person of the 15-member household uses the toilet once a day, the average monthly cost on toilets is somewhere in the range of 180K cedis. Showers are taken using purchased water, within the compound. Solid Waste. There is a garbage bin nearby; the supervisor of the trash bin collects 500 cedis for every bag of garbage disposed. They rarely use the dump. Income and Expenditure This extended family comprises 6 semi-independent households, who share the space and many of the costs, but still maintain some level of financial independence. With so many people—and the majority being dependent or unemployed—it was not possible to discern their individual incomes or expenditure, in terms of who spends on what or who contributes what share of the expenses. Hence, for ease of calculation, it has been assumed that this is a single household; hence, this is at best a rough estimate.

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Wages. None. Remittance. The son in the US remits US$200 every 6 months or so, which is roughly 30K cedis per month. Family assistance. None. Self-employment. Two of Maria’s sons and one daughter-in-law together make some 2500K cedis per month. For our calculations, we will assume that they contribute half of this into the household expenses, i.e. 1250K. Major expense items Exp. / month

(cedis) (for 15 persons)

Exp./ capita per month (cedis)



Food 800K 53K 63 63Electricity 0K 0K 0 0Water 90K 6K 7 7Sanitation 180K 12K 14 14Education 0K 0K 0 0Health 0K 0K 0 0 Housing 200K 13K 16 16

Jerricans, used for storing water

Other 10K 1K 1 1Remittance 0K 0K 0 0

Savings 0K 0

Top: Cows, in the courtyard Below: Maria (right), her daughter-in-law, and grandson

Savings and Loans Maria has no savings. One of her sons has a personal susu account. “He had also tried opening an account in the Metropolitan Bank, but too much documentation was required, so he dropped the idea and went with the susu collectors,” says Maria. Asked if she or her family knew about the informal sector savings schemes, her son responded: “Yes, I learnt about one from a friend. It was a pyramid scheme, and turned out to be a scam after all, because of which people don’t trust these things anymore. But I would be interested in talking to the HFC about their scheme.” Maria was more reserved: “There’s barely any income,” says Maria, “so how can we even think of a savings account? We barely make ends meet. It’s all about managing the funds – when we have enough, we spend on the things we need; when we are short in cash, we don’t. We can’t even begin to think about spending more on housing.”

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Haruna Mohammad

Haruna is a 28-year old single male who works as a trader. He tradesfrom Nigeria and sells locally. He is a member of the local youth asslives in a single-room rental unit in a courtyard house in Nima.

Ten other rooms around the courtyard are also on rent; one is occuelsewhere. Background Haruna was born and raised in Nima. His parents live in a family houseyears ago, and took up this rental accommodation. HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS Haruna Mohammad (HoH) 28 years Trader (informal)


Father 65 years

Mother 60 years Live in family hous(neighbours)

OTHER HOUSEHOLDS ON PLOT 1 Renter

2

Renter

3 Renter

4 Renter

5 Renter

6 Renter

7 Renter

8 Renter

9 Renter

10 Renter

11 Caretaker Lives with wife and 2 children

in clothes and phones which he brings ociation called “Alaska Youth Club”. He

pied by a caretaker. The landlord lives

in the neighbourhood. He moved out 10

Income: 660K cedis/m

- e in Nima

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-

1 room; 1 resident

1 room; 1 resident

1 room; 1 resident1 room; 1 resident

1 room; 1 resident

1 room; 1 resident

1 room; 1 resident

1 room; 1 resident

1 room; 1 resident

1 room; 1 resident

2 rooms; 4 residents

Haruna, standing at his room entrance

Male-headed household (Renter) Household income: 660K cedis/ month Household size: 1 No. of households on plot: 11 No. of persons on plot: 15 No. of rooms on plot: 13 No. of rooms used by this household: 1 Toilet: None. Use public toilet. [Shower area in room] Water: Buy from neighbour Commercial use on plot: None

Housing and Land The structure. The plot has 12 rooms, lined around a courtyard. The walls are made of concrete blocks, and the roof out of tin sheets. There is no kitchen or toilet. Haruna does not cook, but the other renters cook in the courtyard.

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Haruna occupies one room for which he pays 80K cedis per month. He pays 12 months rent, in advance, and renews the lease every year. He says he prefers to pay it this way rather than monthly because he can plan his finances better that way. He has been living here 10 years now; his starting rent was 15K cedis per month. Three years ago, the tenants contributed 25K cedis each, and paved the courtyard. “We asked the landlord to do it several times,” says Haruna, “but he kept postponing it, so we decided to do it ourselves.” Haruna has also built a small bath area within his room, which drains into the street outside. Title. No title (renter). Physical Infrastructure Electricity. There are 3 meters on the plot: 9 rooms share one, 2 other rooms share one, and 1 room has its own meter. The bill is split according to the number of points. Haruna’s average monthly bill is about 30K. Water. Water is bought from the neighbour at 400-600 cedis per bucket. Haruna uses 2 buckets a day on average, which brings his monthly expense on water to about 30K cedis. Sanitation. Haruna uses the public pay-toilet which costs 400 cedis per use. Assuming one visit per day, his monthly cost on toilets is 12K cedis. He has a shower in the room. Top: Shower built by Haruna along the back wall of his room

Below: Wastewater from the plot draining into the street Solid Waste. A garbage collector comes on a tricycle and charges 1000 cedis every 3 days, i.e. 8-10K cedis per month. Income and Expenditure Wages. None. Remittance/ Family Assistance. None. Self-employment. Haruna earns about 8 million cedis annually from his trading business, i.e. 660K cedis per month on average. Major expense items Exp. / month




Food 300K 300K 59 45Electricity 30K 30K 6 5

Savings and Loans Haruna has had a savings account in the Metropolitan and Allied Bank for 5 years now; his current balance is 8 million cedis. He saves about 150K per month on average. He says he does not trust the susu collectors, he says, “because if they run off with your money, one can’t even trace them.” He is interested in a housing loan such as the one offered by HFC, but says he needs to explore the options. General Perceptions

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On home ownership: “I would like to have my own house some day, but right now I have no money. Land is very expensive, and houses are mostly targeted to the rich. I do have my eye on a plot of land, but for which I am saving up.”

Water 30K 30K 6 5Sanitation + waste disposal 20K 20K 4 3 Education 0K 0K 0 0Health 0K 0K 0 0Housing (rent) 80K 80K 16 12 Other 50K 50K 10 8 Remittance 0K 0K 0 0

Savings 150K 23

Top: View from courtyard, facing the entrance Below: View from courtyard, facing the back of the plot

On social issues: Youth – “The largest problem here among the youth is illiteracy and unemployment. Eighty percent of the youth here are unemployed… too many idle hands have led to drug addiction, weed smoking, and other vices. “We know we can’t rely on the government …. so we have set up our own youth club here to help the community, to help each other. Members contribute money (10K cedis per month), and volunteer their services. We sponsor children from poor families to attend school. Currently, we have a plan in the pipeline to build more public toilets and showers, but are awaiting permission from the AMA.” Crime – “There are no thieves here. We all know each other; this is a very cohesive community. Punishment for crime, even petty crime is very severe…. burning the criminal alive, or drilling a nail (6”) into the head, or amputating the toes…! So no one dares to do anything like that. We have to take the law into our own hands because the police is corrupt, the government is corrupt; it’s easy to buy them with money.” HIV-AIDS – “The West African AIDS Foundation carried out some awareness and training workshops in this area recently. I was one of the trainees and am now involved in information dissemination. We go house to house, talking to people, making them understand what AIDS is… My opinion is that the awareness level is alright, but the stigma associated with the disease is still very strong, so people don’t speak up. A lot of people who are dying are dying because of AIDS, but they will never say so.”

Johnny Wackson

Johnny is a 27-year old football player. He runs an electronics repair business in rental accommodation. The shop is near his mother’s (rented) house, where h ial support to his mother (a water vendor), and two sisters (one divorced, with on ith 3 children).

Background Johnny is originally from Nima. He decided to start his own business when his as an apprentice with an electronics engineer for 3 years, where he learned th ss aspects of the trade. He started a small business from his parents’ home, and r a few years, decided to rent an independent shop next to the parents’ house. H dis per month. “There was no structure here then,” he says, “I only rented the v he structure myself. That was part of the lease agreement.” He spent 12 million he goods for the shop. HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS

Johnny Wackson (HoH) 27 years Electronics repair busineowner


Mother 55 years Water vendor; living in Nim

Sister 1 27 years Shop assistant (divorced)

Niece (from sister 1) ? -

Sister 2 23 years Unemployed (widow) Nephew (from sister 2) ? -Niece (from sister 2) ? -Nephew (from sister 2) ? -

OTHER HOUSEHOLDS ON PLOT Unknown. Housing and Land Residence. Johhny stays in a rental unit—a chamber-and-hall (2-room unit)—of 220K cedis per month. It is a permanent structure, with a toilet and shower o

in Nima, but lives in Neo-towne grew up. He provides financ

e child, and another a widow w

father died in 1991. He trained e technical as well as busine

after accumulating savings ovee rented the place for 150K ceacant piece of land, and built tcedis on the construction and t

ss Income: 2500K cedis /

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Johnny, 27-year old entrepreneur and business owner, also a football player

Male-headed household (Renter in another settlement, works here) | 7 dependents living in Nima Household income: 2500K cedis/ month Household size: 1 No. of rooms used by this household: 1 Toilet: Shared, on plot Water: Purchased from vendor

m

a Supported financially by Johnny

in Neotown, where he pays a rent n the plot.

Shop. He pays 150K cedis in rent for the shop every month. He built it himself with permission from the landowner. His lease period was originally 3 years, which he has now extended to 6 years. Physical Infrastructure Electricity. The electricity bill in his house is about 120K cedis per month; in the shop, it is 50K cedis per month.

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Water. Water is bought from the neighbour at 500 cedis per bucket. Johnny uses about 2-3 buckets per day, which brings the monthly cost of water to approximately 45K cedis. Sanitation. There is a toilet and bath in the plot where he lives. To use it, they pay the landlord an additional 15K cedis per month. Income and Expenditure Wages. None. Remittance. His brother in law and step-brother live overseas (in Holland and the US respectively) but do not remit any money to the family. Family assistance. Johnny provides financial assistance to his mother and sisters on an as-needed basis; on average, the amount he contributes is 400-500K cedis per month. Top: Johnny’s mother (left) a water vendor, with the neighbourhood children

Below: Johnny’s mother’s water business, next door to Johnny’s shop in Nima Self-employment. Johnny’s profits from his repair workshop range between 2-2.5 million cedis. [We have used the more conservative number of 2 million cedis below, which takes into account his shop-related costs: rent (150K cedis/m), electricity bill (50K cedis/m, and other associated expenses.]





Food 1000K 1000K 53 50Electricity 120K 120K 6 6Water 45K 45K 2 2Sanitation 15K 15K 1 1Education 0K 0K 0 0Health 0K 0K 0 0Housing (rent) 220K 220K 12 11 Other 0K 0K 0 0Remittance (family assistance) 450K 450K 24 23

Savings 150K 8

Savings and Loans Johnny has a savings account at the Metropolitan Bank, with a balance of 6 million cedis. He also has another account in the Social Security Bank, with a balance of 10 million cedis. He says he saves regularly, and is not particularly interested in a loan. “I will use my savings to build a house if I need money; I don’t want a loan. I first want to expand my business into a company, here and overseas, then have a family, and then build a house.” General Perceptions About his success: “We all need to work hard. I have come this far because of my determination. If more people focus on what they want to do, and push themselves, they will be much better off…”

Johnny’s employees at work in his electronics repair shop (Johnny standing on the right)

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IV. Interviews - World Banksiteresources.worldbank.org/CMUDLP/Resources/... · IV. Interviews This...

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