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ABSTRACT
This article examines traders’ resistance practices in Kumasi, Ghana and their significance for changing urban governance in Africa. Conceptually, we introduce “activism” as a new variable into the present concept of urban governance as decentralization, entrepreneurialism and democratization (DED). From an empirical study in Kumasi, Ghana, findings reveal that activism by non-state actors does not only occur at the crucial earlier phases of the urban regeneration process, but extends into the subsequent phases, because urban governance is a continuous process. We demonstrate that activism and a multiplicity of resistance practices are embedded and significant dimensions of everyday urban governance in Africa. This paper argues that the additional dimension – activism – is necessary in rethinking urban governance in Ghana and Africa. This conceptualization views non-state actors not as resisters of urban governance but as activists whose resistance practices and innovations produce tangible and far-reaching changes in city governance. We learn that non-state actors do not rely on the state to control all aspects of urban governance but invent new practices to secure their socio-economic interests and provide them with leverage where they have to negotiate with or stand up to authorities. The study shows that successful change in urban governance is a function of the complementary and strategic adoption of contention, subversion and co-production. When the state perceives that the intervention of other key stakeholders legitimizes the grievances of non-state actors, it responds positively.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1. Dr. Ebenezer Tackie is a professor of architecture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). He has researched the Kumasi Central Market since the 1980s. He does not consider the end of research to be merely the production of a publication, but also to address any problems identified. He, therefore, took it upon himself to seek investors to redevelop the CM.
2. “Y’ate abrɛ” is Asante Twi and translates into English as “We are tired of hearing the same thing.” It is often used when the subjects feel they have been given empty promises that do not translate into real change.
3. There had been an earlier demonstration on 17 February 2015 which was relatively silent because the action was based on rumor.
4. In fact, based on the project documents approved by the Parliament of Ghana on 18 July 2014, the Terminal had been scheduled to be demolished for the first phase of the project. However, the problem stemmed from the late notification of the traders coupled with several months of labelling the project as “Redevelopment of Kumasi Central Market” with very little indication of the inclusion of the Terminal. When city authorities realized the name could create a problem, they quickly renamed the project “Kejetia/Central Market Project.” In a letter from the Kumasi mayor to the traders dated 11 March 2015, he had indicated that “by definition, the project title ‘Redevelopment of Kumasi Central Market’ includes the Kejetia terminal.”
5. Bank of Ghana Daily Interbank FX Rates of 16 May 2017: $1 = GHȼ4.2278. This is used in all subsequent conversions.
6. In Ghanaian commercial practice, “goodwill” is a lump sum charged separately from normal legal rent by landlords of retail spaces to cover periods from 5 to 15 years. Landlords arbitrarily determine goodwill amounts based on the location and size of the retail space. Although goodwill payment has no legal backing, it is a common practice in the commercial rental market across the country.