Introduction

The economic characteristics of any population are necessary for development planning and other purposes. They are also development indicators that determine how governments are able to manage resources to provide the needs of their populations and thereby achieve their human development goals.

The economic characteristics of the population further help in examining population and development interrelationship so that appropriate policy measures are adopted. The relationship between population and development has been a major area of research and policy concerns in developing countries, including Ghana.

It is against this background that the economic characteristics of the population of the Tema Metropolis are examined in this chapter. The areas of focus include economic activity status, employment status, occupation and industry.

 Economic Activity Status

Table 4.1 and Figure 4.1 show the economic activity status of population 15 years and older by sex in Tema metropolis. About 72.0 percent are economically active and the remaining 28.0 percent are economically not active. Among the economically active population, 90.4 percent are employed and 9.6 percent are unemployed.

Among the male population, a higher proportion are economically active (73.9%) than the proportion among the female population (70.4%). That leaves a higher proportion among females who are economically not active (29.6%) than their male counterparts (26.1%).

The proportion of employed among male economically active population (90.4%) is only marginally higher than the proportion among the females (90.3%).

Among the employed population, 96.3 percent had worked 7 days prior to the census, while 0.2 percent did voluntary work without pay. Of the population unemployed, 53.5 percent are first time job seekers, while 46.5 percent had worked before and now seeking for job.

For the economically not active population, majority (50.2%) are in full time education, while 20.2 percent did home duties. The too old/young people constitute 6.7 percent of the economically not active population.

Economic activity status by age and sex

Table 4.2 shows employment situation among population age groups in the metropolis. The proportion employed increases steadily from 17.4 percent among the 15-19 years age group to 87.9 percent among the 40-44 years age group and decreases also steadily to 33.6 percent among the 65 years and older age group. The trends in proportions of employed among males and females age groups are similar, howbeit different proportions.

The proportions of economically not active are lower than 10 percent among the age groups 30-34 years to 45-49 years and exceeds 60.0 percent among the 65+ years and 15-19 years age groups.

The proportions of the economically not active population among female age groups are generally higher than the proportions among the male age groups.

 Occupation

Occupation refers to the type of work a person is engaged in at the establishment where the person works. Table 4.3 shows the occupation of employed population in the metropolis. About 31.5 percent are in service and sales occupation, 20.2 percent are in craft and related occupation, 10.4 percent are in elementary occupations and 9.8 percent are professionals. The lowest proportion of the employed population are in skilled agriculture, forestry and fishery occupation (4.2%), followed by clerical support occupation (4.4%).

Among the employed females, higher proportions are in service and sales occupations (46.2%), elementary occupations (11.7%) and clerical support occupation (4.7%) than the proportions among employed males (15.9%, 9.0%, and 4.2%, respectively). In all the other occupations, the proportions among employed males are higher than those among employed females.

Employment Status

Employment status refers to position of a person in the establishment where he/she currently works or previously worked. Eight employment status categories were provided: employee, self-employed without employees, self-employed with employees, casual worker, contributing family worker, apprentice and domestic employee (house-help).

Table 4.5 and Figure 4.2 show the employment status of employed population 15 years and older in Tema Metropolis. About 56.7 percent of employed males are employees compared to 29.0 percent of employed females. Higher proportions of employed males are also self-employed with employees (7.4%) and casual worker (4.1%) than their female counterparts (6.7% and 1.3%, respectively).

About 54.1 percent of employed females are self-employed without employees compared to 26.6 percent among employed males. Also higher proportions of employed females are contributing family worker (3.7%), apprentice (3.6%) and domestic employees (1.4%) than their male counterparts (1.4%, 2.9% and 0.7%, respectively).

Employment Sector

Employment sector refers to the sector in which a person works. The sectors covered in the census are public, private formal, private informal, semi-public/parastatal, NGOs and International organizations.

Figure 4.3 and Table 4.6 show the employment sectors of employed population in the metropolis by sex in 2010. The private informal sector is the largest employer (65.4%), followed by Private formal sector (23.6%) and public (government sector (9.3%).

Among employed females, a higher proportion is in the private formal sector than the proportion of employed males in this sector (53.1%). And, among the employed males, higher proportions are in the private formal sector (33.1%) and public (government) sector (11.5%) compared with the proportions of employed females in these sectors (14.7% and 7.3%, respectively).

The high proportions of both employed males and females in the private informal sector may be due to the relatively low levels of educational and professional training among the employed population in the metropolis.

Among employed females, a higher proportion is in the private formal sector than the proportion of employed males in this sector (53.1%). And, among the employed males, higher proportions are in the private formal sector (33.1%) and public (government) sector (11.5%) compared with the proportions of employed females in these sectors (14.7% and 7.3%, respectively).

The high proportions of both employed males and females in the private informal sector may be due to the relatively low levels of educational and professional training among the employed population in the metropolis.

Investment and Business Potentials

The industrial sector represents the most important productive sector in terms of local revenue generation. Currently, there are three steel manufacturing companies in Tema, a large aluminum smelter, and several major food and fish processing companies such as Nestle, Ghana Cocoa Processing Company, Pioneer Food Cannery and Ghana Agro Food Company. There are also two large textile manufacturing companies.

Beside the heavy industries, there are also numerous light industries, with over 250 factories in the municipality engaged in eight major areas: chemicals, textiles, food processing, engineering, paint, fish cold stores, printing and wood working. Tema is perfectly suited for manufacturing.

The municipality has a huge port, and has been designated a Free Port and Export Processing Zone, whereby special facilities are accorded to imports and exports without payment of customs duties or local taxes. Utilities and social services are modern.

Efficient and good economic and social infrastructural facilities are in place and are continuously being upgraded. Tema is less than 25 kilometres away from Accra, which provides the largest and most affluent market for both consumer and intermediate goods in the country.

Agricultural activities in the municipality include crop farming, in the northern part, comprising the production of maize, cassava and cowpea.

Tomatoes, garden eggs and pepper are cultivated in the middle zone, while exotic vegetables, such as cabbage, water melon, onion, carrots, lettuce and okro, are produced in the urban and semi-urban areas of the municipality. Fishing, however, is the predominant agricultural activity with canoe fishing mostly located at Kpone, TemaManhean and Sakumono.

Additionally, modern fishing for export has its base at the Fishing Harbour, although inland fishing in the lagoons remains under-developed. The existence of several large cold stores and other modern facilities for the fishing industry makes the municipality’s southern, coastal section the best place for investment in this area of activity, in the whole country.

Livestock production, especially cattle, is a major activity in the rural areas of the municipality, although the industry is still under-developed. Poultry is very popular, with small, medium and large scale poultry enterprises available, mostly-sited in the semi-urban areas.

The predominant mining activity in the municipality is gravel and sand winning. This activity is, however, strictly controlled, in order not to degrade the land.

There is great potential for salt mining at Kpoi-Ete, near Kpone. Being a port city, Tema has it commercial activities carried out extensively. There are three main markets in the municipality, located in Tema itself, Ashaiman and TemaManhean. There are also several satellite markets.

The service industry comprises banks, insurance firms, hotels, legal firms, postal and communication services and transport.

Others are recreation and freight services. Most importantly, a sizeable portion of Tema has been designated as an enclave for the Free Zone Programme.

Currently, a number of industries are taking advantage of the generous concessions granted under the Free Zone Act to acquire space to operate in the zone

Revenue and Expenditure

The performance of the Metropolitan Assembly to improve the living conditions of the people in the Metropolis is reflected in tables 11 and 12 below which show the revenue and Expenditure patterns of the Assembly from 2006-2009.

Trend

Trend analysis of revenue growth and the corresponding projection as showed in tables 1.15 and 1.16 above show an average growth rate of -31% for locally generated revenue as against -12% for the Metropolitan Assembly Common fund. Though revenue shows a negative growth rate nominal figures have shown fluctuating patterns of positive and negative growth rate; thus making the projection risky.

Nevertheless if local revenue inflows experience a growth rate of -31%, with the Common Fund also experiencing a growth rate of -12%, it is envisaged that the total revenue between the year 2010 and 2013 is projected to be approximately Ghs63.3billion.This figure could change appreciably since it is believed that the percentage allocation of the national revenue to the Assemblies income will increase. Planned programme under the Urban/Slum upgrading, Urban Poverty Reduction Project and Community Based Rural Development Project could bring substantial inflows to the Metropolis. Nevertheless it is prudent to keep planned expenditure within target in order not to experience budget deficits which could mortgage anticipated revenue inflows years ahead of actual disbursement.

Financial Institutions

A number of financial institutions operate and offer financial services to the industries as well as commercial ventures in the Metropolis. The category of customers of financial institutions ranges from salary workers, farmers, industrialists, transport owners, traders, artisans, and corporate institutions. Some of the financial services provided by these institutions are current Account, Savings, Deposits, Domestic and foreign money Transfers, granting loans, telegraphic transfers. The location of these financial institutions shows high accessibility to most of the communities and its surrounding areas.