The government of Ghana and property owners need to come to some agreement to give respite to tenants and put a freeze on evictions as part of measures to mitigate the hardship on Ghanaians as parts of the country endure a lockdown as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed eight out of the 614 confirmed cases, former President John Mahama has proposed.
He said: “On Thursday, I spent the afternoon visiting one of the communities on the outskirts of Accra to present food items to some households.
“From my interactions with the people, one that struck me most was the concern of a young woman that her landlord is demanding the rent for February and March or she faces [eviction].
“She’s been home for a while due to the lockdown and cannot raise the funds to pay. Rent, as we have learnt from other countries, is one of the key areas government intervention is required in mitigating the impact of COVID-19”, the flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress said.
Taking cognisance of the fact that: “In Ghana, properties are privately-owned and rent is paid for several years in advance”, Mr Mahama said: “The government and property owners would have to devise a scheme to come to the aid of tenants who are unable to pay their rent”.
In his view, “A moratorium on evictions, as a first step, will be helpful to many who have lost their daily income as a result of the lockdown”.
In return, he proposed: “I believe the government can compensate landlords and landladies for any income lost through tax reliefs, exemptions among others”.
Already the government is providing free water to all Ghanaians for the next three months.
Also, the poorest of the poor will enjoy free electricity for the same period while other consumers pay only 50 per cent.
Additionally, the price of fuel at the pumps have fallen.
The government is also providing free meals to 400,000 vulnerable people in the locked-down areas of Accra, Tema, Kumasi and Kasoa.
Furthermore, buses have been made available to transport health workers to their posts.
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