Challenges facing slum inhabitants in Ghana a study of the Wa Municipality

Abstract

Slums are increasingly becoming a ubiquitous feature of the urbanization process in Global South countries such as Ghana. Many slum inhabitants are trapped in poverty, terrible housing conditions, squalor and inadequate provision of municipal services. Despite the numerous studies on the challenges facing slum inhabitants, unclear in the scholarly literature is the relative importance slum inhabitants attached to these issues. The study thus investigated the relative importance slum inhabitants attached to the factors driving the growth of slums. Their living conditions and coping strategies. This was premised on Turner‟s (1976) theory of slums. A mixed method approach was adopted with the research design been explanatory sequential and a sample size of 386 for the quantitative data and 11 for the qualitative data was used. The instruments used for data collection were interviews and questionnaires. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data while Relative Importance Index for the quantitative data. The findings indicate that the factors driving the growth of slums from the perspective of inhabitants were the easy access to accommodation and social networks. Again, majority of the slum inhabitants reported that the worst factors affecting their living conditions were poor sanitation issues and the lack of recreational facilities. The predominant coping strategies engaged in were making credit purchases and taking loans. The study recommends that, to improve slum settlements government should assist with the provision of basic amenities such as affordable housing and also improve on income generating activities of slum inhabitants.