The National Tenants Union of Ghana (NATUG)) is demanding an apology from the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Mavis Hawa Koomson over comments they deemed insensitive on rent payments. During a radio interview, Hawa Koomson claimed that rent payments are more expensive in Canada than they are in Ghana.
The Director for Communications and Corporate Affairs for NATUG, Reindolph Afrifa-Oware, has expressed dissatisfaction over the comment made by the minister.
“To hear the minister of state come out to say that upon all the conditions the ordinary Ghanaian is going through, including rent where we are expecting that people of high repute or policymakers to be concerned about the Ghanaian in order to bring up things that would help the ordinary person, making a comparison to a state like Canada, it means our people are not ready to make any change. They feel everything is okay for us. The National Tenants Union of Ghana, we are not happy about it,” he told Citi News in an interview.
He has called on the minister to retract her comments and issue an apology.
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“She must retract and apologise unreservedly because looking at the situation we have here in Ghana and the rental issues, for a minister to say this, it means they are not ready to solve the problems that we are all facing,” he added.
Reindolph Afrifa-Oware also urged the government to expedite the passing of the Rental Bill into law to address the housing and rental challenges.
“As a union, we have been very active in structuring and working on this law and advocating for it. We are calling on Parliament that passing the law, that is the Act 220 is now. We need the Parliament to pass the Act 220 this year and as soon as possible,” Reindoph said.
Amid low salary earnings, rent issues have been one of the major challenges crippling the finances of many Ghanaians, particularly given the high rental prices that are generally set without government intervention.
Despite various policy interventions, including the National Rental Assistance Scheme, rent remains a major contributor to inflation in Ghana, burdening ordinary citizens.
