Ghana receives nearly GHS 4.6 billion a year from its diaspora. This money comes from citizens working demanding jobs abroad. Examples include care homes, night shifts at warehouses, and early morning cleaning. These remittances are not born from abundance. They stem from fear and a lack of functioning systems at home. Until Ghana builds domestic systems, this money will continue to flow. The people sending it will continue to face hardship.
This situation highlights gaps in governance. There is a disconnect between what Ghana asks of its citizens abroad and what it offers them. This gap exists in their host countries and in their home country. Decades of policy choices created this problem. Bureaucratic delays and a culture of informal transactions also contribute. Formal systems have become expensive and unreliable. They often hinder middle-class aspirations.
Many Ghanaians abroad work much longer hours than others from their countries. This is often misread as a strong work ethic. However, the reality is different. Ghanaians in low-wage jobs in the West work 60 hours or more per week. Their colleagues born in the West often work just 40 hours. The Ghanaian worker stays longer not due to management pressure. They stay because the alternative is financial ruin. There is no family home to return to in cities like Leeds or Toronto. No extended family supports them. Ghana itself, despite its problems, offers a family structure. This provides a safety net that is absent abroad.
This situation creates significant financial anxiety. It drives working hours beyond what is healthy. These long hours are a response to structural vulnerability. They cause measurable physical harm. Back injuries, joint damage, and repetitive strain injuries are common. This is documented in African immigrant worker communities globally. Many Ghanaian workers lack robust workplace injury insurance. Agency workers often have fewer protections. Healthcare systems abroad can have long waiting times. This means physical problems can worsen over years. The body breaks down, and the system cannot fix it quickly.
Another factor driving these long hours is social pressure. Many Ghanaians abroad work to build visible capital back home. This includes buying houses or cars. They pay school fees for siblings. They also cover large restaurant bills. In their communities, returning from the West means demonstrating status. This status must be shown through material wealth. A Ghanaian working 70 hours a week is partly meeting these social expectations. However, working more hours does not always mean more financial freedom. In the UK, earnings above a certain amount are taxed at 40 per cent. This means extra hours bring less take-home pay per hour. After taxes and travel, the financial gain is less than expected. The mental health toll is also significant. Rates of anxiety and depression can reach 75 per cent in some groups.
The narrative in Ghana often suggests the diaspora just needs encouragement. They are asked to invest back home. However, this overlooks the fundamental issue. Returning home is not a rational economic decision for many. The systems needed to support a return are not in place. This includes reliable financial institutions. It also requires a stable economic environment. Without these, sending money home at great personal cost remains the only viable option. Ghana needs to build these structures to make returning an attractive choice.