Ghana
Did Ghana. In the 1970s, the alternative development paradigm gave prominence to phrases like “poverty reduction,” “poverty alleviation,” and “poverty elimination.” The “neoliberal economic turn,” which has been commonly referred to as poverty at the center of development in the 1970s, was characterised in particular by the Structural Adjustment, and as a result, it was short-lived.
Economic liberalization and programs (SAPs) in the early 1980s (Mafeje, 2001; Nederveen Pieterse, 2001). Due to SAPs’ failure and underwhelming outcomes, poverty has once again come up in discussions about development (starting in the early 1990s). The 1980s, when SAPs were in power, are known in Sub-Saharan Africa as the “lost decade” (Martinussen, 1997; Mafeje, 2001).
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have been pushed to reevaluate their stance on economic growth and the use of the market as the only method of resource allocation in part due to the dismal results and conceptual criticism of SAPs. Nederveen Pieterse (2001) asserts that the participation of development stakeholders and “development from below” are increasingly recognized as essential conditions for progress and the eradication of poverty. These institutions now usually acknowledge that development and poverty reduction must be led by and distinctive to each individual country. Once more, there needs to be wide internal (national) agreement on the tactics to be used to reduce poverty.
The adoption of these principles enhances the implementation of development programs, according to the World Bank and the IMF. These guidelines supportpolitical front to address terrorist prevention and eradication. This stems from the idea that violent conflict and failed governments caused by widespread poverty serve as a breeding ground for terrorism and terrorist organizations, with grave consequences for the safety, stability, and economic success of the wealthy in both the South and the North.
Numerous solutions targeted at reducing poverty in developing nations, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, have been developed as a result of the refocusing of emphasis on poverty. The adoption of the Millennium Development Goals and the country’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) are important components of these efforts (MDGs). A country’s efforts for reducing poverty are greatly influenced by how poverty is defined and measured, including who the poor are and the methods employed. They serve as the foundation for assessments of the poor as well.
In the literature on poverty in Ghana, it is frequently stated that it is mostly a rural phenomena. According to Poverty Trends in Ghana in the 1990s (GSS, 2000a), a publication by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), there is an overall drop in Ghana’s poverty level (except the Urban Savannah). It did, however, note that poverty is still disproportionately a rural phenomena in Ghana, with rural poverty still being much greater than urban poverty (GSS, 2000a: 9; ISSER, 2004; World Bank, 2005). This article urges a critical analysis of this viewpoint. It is not implied here that urban poverty in Ghana is worse than rural poverty, or that this position has to be critically reexamined.
The statement ‘poverty in Ghana is basically a rural phenomenon’ is a common quote in the literature on poverty in Ghana. A Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) publication titled Poverty Trends in Ghana in the 1990s (GSS, 2000a) notes that in general terms there is a general decline in poverty level in Ghana (except the Urban Savannah). It, however, added that poverty is still substantially higher in rural areas than urban areas, so that poverty in Ghana is disproportionately a rural phenomenon (GSS, 2000a: 9; ISSER, 2004; World Bank, 2005).
This article calls for a critical examination of this view. In calling for a critical re-examination of this view, it is not suggested here that Ghana’s urban poverty is worse than that of rural poverty, or that resources and attention on rural poverty should be shifted to urban areas but the need for adequate attention to be paid to the growing incidence of urban poverty.
Despite the fact that there is an expanding body of research on urban poverty, there are few or insufficient studies that focus explicitly on the methods used to measure poverty in particular nations. The article calls attention to the poverty measurement approach, which ignores the unique characteristics of urban areas, especially the “million” cities of Accra and Kumasi.
The article acknowledges the numerous linkages and parallels between rural and urban places in order to support its claim (Okali et al., 2001; Rakodi, 2002; Satterthwaite & Tacoli, 2002, 2003, Owusu, 2004, 2005a). It also acknowledges the distinctions between urban and rural areas at the same time. The essay aims to highlight a few of these variations in Ghana’s approach to assessing poverty. The article starts following the introduction.
The commercialization and modernization of agriculture is a key component of rural development in Ghana, according to the country’s poverty reduction strategy papers (GPRSI&II). Urban and rural poverty must both receive equal attention in Ghana in order to reduce poverty. However, this can only take place if the ‘real’ extent of urban poverty is known. The identification of the urban poor through improved poverty measuring methodologies and enhancing their livelihood chances has a direct and indirect impact on rural areas from the standpoint of rural-urban links.
This viewpoint should also acknowledge that any remedy for rural development needs to take into account the circumstances of the metropolitan population. In other words, because rural and urban growth are interdependent, any strategy that affects the urban economy will have an impact on the scope and speed of rural development,
This viewpoint should also acknowledge that any remedy for rural development needs to take into account the circumstances of the metropolitan population. In other words, because rural and urban growth are interdependent but not independent of one another, any strategy that affects the urban economy will have an impact on the scope and pace of rural development.
