Abstract
Upon its introduction into slums in Ghana as a result of its contribution to development in rural communities, community development has been adopted to provide some basic amenities such as houses and toilet facilities in such informal communities. With limited access to electricity being a major problem in Ashaiman slums, various stakeholders such as the Electricity Company of Ghana and non-governmental organizations have employed community development mechanisms to assist the inhabitants in electrification projects in Ashaiman slums. This qualitative study was conducted to investigate how community development has fared in the electrification efforts, focusing on the contributions it has made and the challenges encountered. The practice has improved the dialogue and relationship between the communities and officials of the Electricity Company of Ghana and led to the electrification of some neighbourhoods. However, slum electrification efforts have been impeded by tribal differences among the inhabitants due to the high ethnic diversity, and lack of resources. It is therefore important that leaders of the tribes work towards uniting their subjects for their participation in electrification efforts.
Highlights
The lack of access to legal electricity is a common problem in many slums, which are mostly occupied by poor folks
The decision to embark on electrification is usually made by the leadership of the slums, inhabitants and community developers. This decision is communicated to Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) and Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG)
Discussion of Findings This study sought to examine the role played by community development in electrification projects in Ashaiman and the challenges encountered in the projects
Summary
The lack of access to legal electricity is a common problem in many slums, which are mostly occupied by poor folks. According to Baruah (2010), about 40% of urban poor people do not have access to electricity legally. This impedes both social and economic development, depriving many slum dwellers the satisfaction electricity consumption brings, a situation that leads many slum dwellers to resort to illegally accessing electricity (Mimmi, 2014). In response to the lack of electricity in many slums, community development has been adopted in many countries like India to aid electrification efforts (Baruah, 2010).
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