| Boiling Point | |
> Issue 48 (2002) Promoting household energy for poverty reduction | |
| Article | The Sustainable Urban Livelihoods Framework - a tool for looking at links between energy and poverty |
| Author | Alison Bannister |
| Méthodologie pour des revenus urbains durables: un outil d'analyse de la relation énergie-pauvreté L'impact d'une augmentation de 96% des prix de l'électricité et de 64% des combustibles pétroliers au Ghana est abordé à partir de ce cadre d'analyse. Cet article traite de l'impact de cette augmentation des prix sur le capital des ménages et leurs stratégies pour faire face à cette situation. Cet article montre que les populations pauvres ne sont plus en mesure d'acheter des biens de consommation électriques, et d'épargner. Par ailleurs les visites familiales sont considérablement réduites. Les modes alimentaires ont par ailleurs changé et les dépenses de santé ont été réduites. Les entreprises ont également été durement touchées. Ce cadre d'analyse s'est avéré un instrument adéquat pour l'analyse des changements en cours. |
[top] [end]Introduction
This article describes an evaluation of the importance of energy in relation to interventions, shocks and stresses in a poor community in Ghana. The focus of this article is the research findings from Moshie Zongo, one of the two urban communities studied in Ghana, located in a densely-populated inner city neighbourhood with few social and infrastructural amenities. The research was undertaken six to eight months after massive price rises for electricity and fuel had been implemented. The research was managed locally by the Energy Foundation, with social study experts from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi. The Ghanian experience described in this article is part of a larger project called ‘Energy, Poverty and Sustainable Urban Livelihoods’ located in Indonesia, China and Ghana. The specific change examined in each country is summarised in Table 1. Table 1: Specific event in each country analysed duringthe study |
[top] [end]The community of Moshie Zongo
Moshie Zongo was originally settled by migrants from Burkina Faso and ethnic groups from the north of Ghana in the 1950s. It is in a low-lying part of the city, bordered by three rivers. During the rainy season the community is often cut off from the rest of the city due to flooding. The majority of the population (Figure 1) are employed in the informal sector, the women selling small items in front of their homes, hairdressing, dress making and producing palm kernel oil, and the men making pots, or corn milling. Those in the formal sector tend to be unskilled labourers, drivers or security men. The community is very poorly served with sanitation facilities and its piped water supply is irregular and prone to contamination, since the pipeline passes through a heavily contaminated stream. In common with other poor urban areas of Ghana, many families, ranging from 10 people to as many as 23 in Moshie Zongo, live in ‘compound houses’. Often there is only one electricity meter and therefore bills have to be shared using an agreed formula. This can have a significant impact on how people use electricity and the way they plan their spending. Figure 1: Residents of Moshie Zongo (photo: Alison Bannister) |
[top] [end]Research method
The research team used the version of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework developed by the DPU to analyse changes in the community after the energy price rises. They collected information through a combination of:- semi-structured interviews based around the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework
- focus group meetings
- transect walks with some of the residents. (Transect walks are walks involving the research team and the residents where housing types, infrastructure and amenities, religious and cultural features, economic activities, skills, occupations and land use are observed.)
The DPU approach to Sustainable Livelihoods starts by finding out about the short term and long term objectives of poor men and poor women, identified using a participatory approach. It goes on to establish the assets or wealth available to them. These assets include:
- Human assets, such as health, education, skills
- Physical assets, including property, equipment and infrastructure
- Natural assets of water, air, soil, vegetation, etc.
- Financial assets, such as access to credit, loans, savings, remittances
- Social assets, including support mechanisms within families and communities, religious groups, community groups, etc.
Access to these assets is affected by the social or cultural situation, the economic position, the political and administrative context and the environmental conditions in which people are living. How these assets are accessed and used are also determined by policies, institutions and processes. Some of these can influenced by poor people, in which case they can take control – but others cannot.
 Figure 2: The road into Moshie Zongo (photo: Alison Bannister) |
[top] [end]Preliminary field results
A summary of some of the key findings from the Ghanaian field work at the Moshie Zongo site is described below. The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework provides the structure for the analysis. The impact of price rises on household assets and strategies was particularly significant. This summary is based on a draft report produced by Dr Rudith King of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi and Dr Alfred Ofosu Ahenkorah of the Energy Foundation, Accra.[top] [end]Physical assets
Increases in energy prices resulted in increased disputes within the community about how to share out the electricity bills fairly.‘...even last week, people had to fight in this house over electricity bills’
As a result there was a reduction in the use of physical assets. Some households decided to abandon using labour saving devices or entertainment devices such as TVs, radios and cassette players that required electricity, not only because of price increases but also to avoid the problems that came with splitting the bill.
Figure 3 highlights the large number of TV aerials in the community. However, most households either do not have a TV or cannot afford the cost of electricity to use it and therefore do not use such items.
One third of the people in the project have stopped buying electrical appliances, and refrigerators and freezers are turned off at night. Ben, a 32 year old fitting mechanic had an electric cooking stove, but has stopped using it and only uses charcoal for his meals now.
[top] [end]Financial assets
The high illiteracy rate in such deprived communities often increases the vulnerability of people to fraudsters and dishonest people. In one such incident a compound house, with about 24 tenants sharing a common electricity meter, gave their money for the electricity bill to one of the tenants to pay to the utility. He kept the money himself. The electricity company disconnected the supply but this man, having squandered the money, reconnected them illegally. The electricity company found this out and the families in the compound are now being taken to court and face a bill of 3 million cedis ($430). This is a sizeable debt given that 50% of the population of Moshie Zongo earn less than $1 per day. Figure 3: TV arials in Moshie Zongo (photo: Alison Bannister) |
‘Prior to the increase in energy prices I could save 30,000 cedis ($4) a month – now we save nothing’
This reduction in the community’s spending power is seriously affecting those earning a living in the community through trading and providing services.
[top] [end]Social assets
Social assets relate to the networks of trust, cooperation and support which exist within communities. The social capital of households is determined in part by the networks to which they belong and in part by their contribution to, support of and cooperation with other members of that network. Such capital can be used at times of stress. But to do this households need to have built stocks by supporting others in their times of need. Social events, such as weddings, bring social networks together. Those who are part of the network while partaking in a social event also contribute, through gifts, to the establishment of the new household of the bride and groom. An action which the bride and groom will be expected to reciprocate at appropriate times in the future.In Moshie Zongo links between extended urban and rural families have been severely affected by the increasing cost of transport, due, in part, to the petrol price rises. Mothers can no longer afford to visit or take gifts to their children and other relatives.
My daughter lives with my parents in the North. I can’t afford to visit her now
'‘I relied on my family sending food to us but transportation costs are so high now it has become impossible
The reduction in spending money because of having to pay more for energy has further reduced the ability of households to participate in social events, and this has a long term impact on their chances of receiving support in times of need. Also, other people in the community can see which households have not been able to pay for electricity.
When electricity is cut off people are very aware of it – it is very visible. There is a shame from not being able to pay your bills
[top] [end]Human assets
The increase in energy prices has changed the way in which the families interviewed spend their money. Although the money people earn has not gone up substantially for the households in Moshie Zongo, the amount actually spent on energy has increased in many cases. This is not just for electricity and petroleum – but also for firewood (90%); kerosene (67%) and charcoal (82%). Although it is difficult to prove on the basis of our small, qualitative sample, we believe that this must reduce the available funds for other items such as food, education and health, causing further hardship. To complicate matters further, the cost of food, education and health are also going up in price due to the general economic situation in Ghana. The following facts are known:[top] [end]Food
Food consumption patterns are changing which might lead to problems with nutrition in the longer term. Consumption of milk, bread, meat, eggs, fish, fruit, rice are all falling, and Tuo Zaafi (a meal prepared from maize flour) consumption is increasing.| Absorbing or passing on the cost? Selling charcoal  Figure 4 Woman selling charcoal (photo: Alison Bannister)The cost of charcoal has gone up and this charcoal seller has to pay for transport costs from the production site into the city. Transport costs have increased due to the increased price of fuel. She cannot pass the full cost on to her customers as they are reducing the amount they buy in any case. Her profits are now so low that she has to take on other jobs in order to afford to live. Kenny’s experience running a bar Kenny, a drinking bar operator in Moshie Zongo, Kumasi, says that energy is the second biggest item of expenditure after food for him. He is paying out three times the amount he paid last year on energy, and his profits from operating the bar have been reduced as he cannot pass on the increase to his customers. He is thinking of trying to find an extra job to bring in enough money to meet his needs. |
The number of meals eaten is also falling – fewer people are taking lunch now (50% as compared to 86% prior to the energy price rises).
[top] [end]Health
A survey of people’s use of healthcare facilities revealed a change from using the hospital to using the local drugstore in the post-energy price rise period. (Hospital attendance of 60% fell to 32% and attendance at drugstores increased from 23% to 50%).[top] [end]Education
Expenditure on education has increased but people are maintaining this with difficulty:I have stopped buying dresses for myself so I can have money to buy school uniforms and shoes for my children
I now pay my children’s school fees in instalments.
The reduction in expenditure on education, health and food will have a negative impact on human assets.
[top] [end]Natural assets
Natural assets in Moshie Zongo are poor: the river is polluted; there has been no waste removal for eight years; and sanitation is inadequate. However, there has been no immediate impact on the local environment due to the price increases.[top] [end]Conclusions
The use of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework for understanding the relationship between the effects of an energy intervention or shock on households has proved to be a valuable analytical tool for a number of reasons as shown in Table 2. Table 2: Findings |
Overall, these three lessons draw out the very real potential for the Sustainable Livelihoods approach to be used in a variety of situations. The next stage of the project is to draw together our research findings in Ghana with those from Indonesia and China.
However, we would welcome the thoughts and comments of the readers of Boiling Point on the issues raised above in order to maximize the potential of our work.
This project is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for the benefit of developing countries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of DFID.
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The Sustainable Urban Livelihoods Framework - a tool for looking at the links between energy and poverty by Alison Bannister (148 KB)[top] [end]Contents: Boiling Point 48: Promoting household energy for poverty reduction
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