Head porters popularly called Kayayei, within the Ga West Municipal Assembly (GWMA) can now live in a descent place after work within the next 18 months.
This follows the cutting of sod to begin construction of a four-storey hostel facility at Adjen Kotoku to accommodate 300 of them.
The facility is among seven other hostel facilities that would be built within seven municipalities in the Greater Accra Region.
Three would be built within the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and one each in Korle Klottey, Ashaiman, La Nkwantanang and Ayawaso Central.
Funded by the government, the four-storey facility, which is the first to be built, would be completed within a period of 18 months.
Speaking at a brief ceremony to cut the sod to begin the project in Accra, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Ga West, Clement Nii Lamptey Willkinson, explained that the ground floor of the facility would have an auditorium, while the first, second and third floors would accommodate the head porters.
He explained that the project was part of efforts by the government to improve the lives of head porters in Accra.
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 disagreed with claims that such a facility would encourage more young girls to move from the north to the south, noting that hundreds of such girls were already in the south and what was important 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 further explained that the facility would not only provide accommodation for them, but also be an avenue where they would be trained with some vocational skills such as dress making and hair dressing.
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 indicated that they could benefit from the training by first registering to be part of the Kayayei Association.
An Officer from Frontline Limited, Consultants for the Project, Marvin Adjei, noted that the Ga West Municipality was the first municipality where the facility was being built under the Kayaye Hostel Accommodation Facility project.
Appreciation
The Assembly Member for Kotoku Electoral Area, Henry Nii-Chartey Marbell, thanked the government and the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) for starting the project in the municipality and for enhancing development in the community.
He, however, reminded the government to expand the Adjen Kotoku market to incorporate community members to enjoy the full benefit of the market.