A tale of two cities: Diaspora influx hikes cost of living for Ghanaians

Al Jazeera :
American tourist Divine Koufahenou takes a picture of her mother, Afi, and her friend Dawn Kravig at the Door of No Return at the Cape Coast Slave Castle in Ghana in 2019 [File: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters]
Francis Adotey has lived on Oxford Street in the popular Accra neighbourhood of Osu all his life.

The street, known for its many supermarkets, restaurants, nightclubs and pubs, is seen as the heart of Accra.

And for a long time, Adotey was happy to live in the neighbourhood.

But these days, the 45-year-old pharmacist, his wife and three daughters go to hang out or shop outside Osu because of the increasingly expensive prices of food, groceries and household items there.

“I will spend at least $100 if I were to take my family to a restaurant here in Osu,” Adotey told Al Jazeera.

“I can’t afford it because my [monthly] take-home pay is approximately $300.

It never used to be like this until some three or so years ago when Ghana became the centre of attraction across the world.”

“The restaurants are charging according to the pockets of the foreigners.

… The shops are targeting the expatriates because they have the financial wherewithal, and that is driving the locals away,” he said.

In 2018, President Nana Akufo-Addo launched an initiative to encourage the African diaspora to visit the continent.

Called The Year of Return, it was marketed as a spiritual journey of reconnection, especially for African Americans, to a land from which people were carted away into slavery.

It was also sold as a chance to contribute to the economic growth of the first sub-Saharan country to achieve independence from colonialism.

It was, on the surface, a masterstroke from Akufo-Addo.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, 750,000 visitors came in 2019, mostly from the United States, to be part of the activities and $1.9bn was injected into the economy.

The Diaspora Affairs Office, established in 2017, said at least 1,500 African Americans have moved to Ghana since 2019.