Chairman of the Hostel Owners Association, Bishop Dr Akwasi Owusu, has disputed claims by the Rent Commissioner, Frederick Opoku, about the condition of some private student hostels, accusing him of unfairly portraying hostel operators.
Mr Opoku recently described conditions in some private student accommodation facilities as “appalling” and “shocking” following inspections triggered by a petition from the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS).
According to the Rent Commissioner, the inspections revealed overcrowded rooms, poor ventilation and facilities which, in his view, did not meet the basic standards expected of a hostel.
However, speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Bishop Dr Akwasi Owusu said the Rent Commissioner had embarked on what he described as a campaign against hostel owners over high accommodation fees.
He said he personally contacted Mr Opoku after hearing his comments and informed him that hostel owners had an established association that had existed since 2000.
“He started his campaign against the high hostel fees. I personally called him and told him that we have an association, but he said we don’t have any association,” Bishop Owusu said.
“I told him that when he comes to Kumasi, our association has existed since 2000, so I was surprised when he said there was no association.”
According to him, he subsequently invited the Rent Commissioner and his team to Kumasi for a meeting with leaders of the association.
He said Mr Opoku, however, told him that he did not have a budget to travel to Kumasi and that if the association wanted him to visit, it would have to bear his transportation cost.
“He told me he had no budget to come to Kumasi and that it was not part of his budget. He said if I wanted him and his team to come and meet our leaders, we would have to pay for their transportation,” he said.
Bishop Owusu said he questioned the arrangement, arguing that the Rent Commissioner was working for the government and should therefore have an official budget for such engagements.
“I told him that you are working with government, so the government will give you a budget. But while I was talking to him, he hung up the phone,” he said.
He claimed that after the disagreement, the Rent Commissioner proceeded to inspect several hostels without engaging the association.
“Since then, he went from hostel to hostel and started making these claims,” Bishop Owusu said.
He particularly rejected the Rent Commissioner’s description of some student accommodation as overcrowded, saying the comparison that students were being packed “like sardines” was unfair.
“He said some of the students were packed like sardines. I think that was not fair and it was not true,” he said.
Bishop Owusu accused the Rent Commissioner of making exaggerated claims to gain public sympathy and undermine private hostel operators.
“He is just lying and doing public sympathy just to disregard us,” he alleged.
He maintained that hostel owners should be engaged in discussions about accommodation challenges rather than being portrayed negatively, stressing that operators also face significant financial obligations, including taxes, loan repayments, maintenance and other operational costs.
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