Abstract:
his research investigated the performance of rural and urban petty traders in Afigya Kwabre District. A total of two hundred (200) questionnaires were administered in the
study area but one hundred and ninety-three (193) responses were received. Descriptive
statistics was employed to describe the demographic characteristics, social capital of
petty traders and their customers, the roles they play and challenges associated with petty
trading. The findings revealed that demographic characteristics such as age, education,
source of income and operation mode play a major role in the life of petty traders.
Majority of petty traders own their businesses, finance it through personal savings and
operate on part-time basis. Most petty traders win customers and get free foodstuffs
through socialisation. However, petty trading is not competitive enough and barter
trading rarely practised. The study revealed that, petty trading requires low starting
capital, has easy entry, no special skills required, provides employment and serves as
economic agent. Factors such as lack of access to credit, high interest rate, bad roads,
difficulty collecting money from debtors, lack of storage facilities and partnerships, lack
of government support and poor implementation of SSES policies contribute to the
inability of SSES to perform very well. In view of these challenges, major
recommendations proposed include the following; Establishment of SSES bank in Ghana,
interest rate reduction, provision of good roads, ban on importation of foreign goods and
good implementation of SSES policies to control them. Finally, effective implementation
of the recommendation could lead to growth of SSES sector in Afigya-Kwabre District
and eventually result in creation of employment as well as reduce poverty in Ghana
Description:
A Dissertation in the Department of MECHANICAL TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION, Faculty of TECHNICAL EDUCATION, submitted to the school of
Graduate Studies, University of Education, Winneba in partial fulfilment of the
requirement for award of the Master of Technology (Mechanical) degree.
SEPTEMBER, 2013