The New Town
Tema New Town was originally created to exhibit Ghana at its best with regards to being an independent country: a modern town composed of experimental housing, paved roads and community services. After the port’s official opening in 1962, Tema became the subject of extensive migration flows which were also associated to illusions with regards to employment opportunities. The model town was thus transformed into a haven for jobseekers, but eventually was overwhelmed by the rapid increase in its population.
Inhabited spaces, services and infrastructures have been pushed to their limits for decades, transforming the model town into a slum, therefore breaking the initial promise made to provide an ideal living environment for modern Ghanaians.
One has to wonder, now, what is the future for people living the suburbs of Accra, along the coast, they see compromised their core business, which was fishing.
Life in the Tema Manhean’s slum is challenging: it requires resistance, adaptation, and endurance, but people live by organizing their spaces with ingenuity and creativity.
The following photos are mostly taken in Tema New Town and some in the old port of James Town that today, after promises, shares similar conditions.