Slums Development in Ghana, Debates on Eradication and Upgrading: A Necessary Highlight on Abinkyi

Abstract

Slum policies in Africa have mostly focused on the demolition and destruction of inhabitants' property. In Ghana, for example, various governments over the years have embarked on slum destruction without relocation. During Alfred Oko Vandapuije's tenure as Accra Mayor, he also implemented the policy of widespread destruction without relocation. The government of Ghana in 2020 undertook a huge demolition effort in Old Fadama as a strategy to combat the spread of COVID-19, with reports indicating that over 1000 slum dwellers were made homeless as a result of this activity. The primary reason of such wholesale destruction can be attributed to poor urban planning. Proponents of demolition contended that it is required for a variety of reasons, including elimination of criminals and beautifying the city, health concerns among others. This paper argued that the government's attitude toward slum clearance in Africa, and particularly in Ghana, has resulted in two schools of thought within the geography of academics and policy making, one believes in full eradication, while the other believes in incremental upgrading as a solution to slum clearance. Scholars have paid less attention to the importance of this debate especially in Ghana. As a result, the goal of this paper is to identify the optimal strategy to put into effect by analyzing both primary and secondary data.