What Makes Us Different?

HISTORY & BACKGROUND OF SUAME MAGAZINE

In the late 1920s, the emergent artisans and craftsmen of Kumasi exhibited great indigenous skills and talents in blacksmithing, goldsmithing and the making of brass artefacts, which were the prevalent engineering trade in the region at that time. Most of these engineering trades started as traditional family businesses in homes, until those who found vehicle repair as a trade with good prospects, came together as small dispersed groups who could repair shattered vehicle springs by forging. The challenge, however, emerged when the artisans began to form

small clusters around a focal point as a homogenous unit. At the same time, the development of infrastructure in the City of Kumasi continued to relocate the artisans to various sites including the present location of the Kumasi Zoological Gardens and the Suame Police Station. In 1935, the dispersed groups of artisans organised their operations in properly laid out workshops located at a former armoury- hence the name ‘Magazine’, a name which has followed them to their present site in Suame, a suburb of Kumasi. In Ghana, similar set ups located in the northern half of the country have adopted the name “Magazine” whereas in the southern half, they are known as the “Kokompes”. Suame Magazine lies on the side and bottom of a hill to the east of the main road to the northern regions of Ghana, and to the west of a creek. The trapezoidal-shaped area is nearly

kilometres long with an average width of 320 metres. Within the last decade, the area has seen a steady development, expansion and springing up of concrete structures of workshops, stores, petrol stations and residential buildings which line the 1.8 kilometre stretch of road on the main Magazine area. Currently the perimeter of the nucleus of the cluster covers a distance of 7 km. There are two main roads running through the area parallel to its length and several main roads running across its width. The facade of permanent concrete structures of the Suame industrial slums stretches to the half kilometre side of the perimeter known as the “new road” where vehicle spare parts are sold. Within the core area of Suame Magazine, 6 out of every 10 buildings are constructed of temporary materials of wooden boards and iron sheets. Although, the land is zoned for administrative purposes, plots within the zones are not well demarcated. This is mainly due to the haphazard location of temporary workshops by squatter artisans. Abandoned vehicle carcasses, smeared engine oil floors, metal scraps and metal chips are typical perceived features of Suame Magazine. On the other side of the main Magazine, which narrowly stretches into the residential area of Suame, sale of items for car decoration, sale of second-hand vehicles as well as the manufacture of donkey carts, push trolleys etc. are some of the noticeable enterprises. In addition to the noticeable features of several engineering

workshops in the Suame Magazine area, there are also a large number of spare parts dealers, traders of engineering materials and accessories as well as scrap metal dealers. Another distinctive scenery when entering the Suame Magazine by the main road from the Kumasi city centre is the sloping landscape of the Suame roundabout, the biggest in Kumasi.

The unique feature of the micro small medium enterprises (MSMEs) of Suame Magazine and their contribution to the national economy in the areas of engineering, industry and agriculture, has extended their fame beyond the borders of Ghana. Neighbouring countries namely: Burkina Faso, Togo, Mali and Ivory Coast benefit from a range of engineering services in the maintenance and repair of vehicles, engineering manufacture of agro- processing machinery and agricultural implements like hoes, shepherd crooks, bullock plough blades etc. Despite

their significant contribution to the economy of Ghana, the MSMEs of Suame are left to their fate in matters of national development and planning. Over half a century, very little was done by the local city council as well as central government to develop the physical infrastructure (water, electricity, road, telecommunication, safety devices, waste disposal sites, etc.), which would help to attract direct investment in modern engineering into the cluster. By 1971, almost all the roads in Suame Magazine were untarred and in bad condition and most of the buildings were built of temporary materials (DHPR 1971). At the time the so-called “industrial slums”

of Suame Magazine, which have only recently seen some physical development, continue to portray the cluster as unsafe for large business ventures. Again, lack of capital inflow from financial institutions to support the cluster enterprises has affected the MSMEs from becoming a successful seedbed from which other secondary enterprises can grow. However, there is every indication that the Suame Magazine, Ghana’s largest informal industrial area, is by all

standards, one of the biggest clusters of MSMEs in Africa. The growing population of MSMEs in Suame Magazine continues to uncover the increasing

need for state intervention in the provision of new physical infrastructure (telecommunication, electricity, water and sanitation, access roads, health posts etc.); and the expansion of existing ones. The population of Suame Magazine grew rapidly from 50 artisans to over 27,000 artisan entrepreneurs in 1979. By 1984, the population was over 40,000 (Powell 1986). Currently, there are over 200,000 people working in and around Suame Magazine. It is estimated that by

the year 2020 a cluster of about 300,000 people (male and female) employing diverse range of indigenous techniques and technologies, will be employed in the Suame MSMEs. In the 1990s the Technology Consultancy Centre of the KNUST estimated that an average rate of growth of 8% per annum of the population of the labour force of Suame Magazine far exceeded the high average rate of 4.5% urban drift by the youth into the cities. This means that many of the youth

who migrate to Kumasi with the intention of learning a trade are being absorbed into the MSMEs.

ABOUT SUAME MAGAZINE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT

ORGANIZATION

SMIDO was formed in 2006 as an umbrella non-governmental organization and development institution for Suame Magazine Industrial enclave and its environs. SMIDO was created by the various trade associations operating in and around Suame magazine. SMIDO was formally registered and incorporated in March,2007 with business registration number CG120982020. SMIDO oversee the activities in the single largest industrial cluster of artisans in the subSahara Africa engaged mainly in vehicular repairs and metal works with working population of over 200,000 and 12,000 enterprises operating within and around the enclave. SMIDO

members specialise in areas of Repair/Maintenance, manufacturing, recycling, and Trading. Historically, a major challenge for development in the Suame Magazine Industrial enclave has been the lack of a single organization that has broad support from various associations and individuals in the enclave that can act as an entry point for policy interventions and take ownership for ongoing development initiatives.

SMIDO has overcome this challenge by unifying the 32 sub-associations, hence all the subassociations consider SMIDO as their Umbrella Organization. The core mandate of SMIDO is to cater for the general welfare of its members who are artisans

and informal businesses in Suame Magazine. SMIDO also facilitates the development and growth of a competitive and vibrant private sector by improving the environment in which its members, artisans and informal businesses in Suame Magazine operate.

With broad base support from sub associations within and around Suame Magazine enclave, SMIDO has become the grassroots organization leading the Suame Magazine cluster and other sub clusters to become technological and innovations hub.