Minority questions source of funding for National Rent Assistance Scheme

The Minority in Parliament has challenged the source of funding for the Rent Scheme initiative by the government.

Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has launched the innovative National Rental Assistance Scheme (NRAS) in Accra.

The NRAS is to be managed by a private sector property manager under the auspices of the Ministry of Works and Housing and other key stakeholders.

The initial rollout, with a seed funding of GH¢30 million, will take place in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Western, Eastern, Bono East and Northern Regions, where data from the Ghana Statistical Service indicate renters have the greatest challenge with rental accommodation.

But the Minority commenting on the initiative on Starr News with Nana Dedei Tettey asked how the government will fund the initiative since the last budget read in Parliament there was not any provision in the budget for the Rent Scheme launched by the President.

“The initial roll-out, with a seed funding of GH¢30 million, will take place in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Western, Eastern, Bono East and Northern Regions, where data from the Ghana Statistical Service indicate renters have the greatest challenge with rental accommodation."

“I don’t think we have even gotten there; he should have engaged parliament first. Because you are telling us that the money is coming from the government but I know it is not coming from the Ministry of Works and Housing because there wasn’t any provision in the budget for that,” Ranking Member on Works and Housing in Parliament, Vincent Oppong Asamoah stated.

He continued: “So, probably you need to count on the office of government machinery. I know there have been a lot of initiatives that are locked up over there and scrutiny of those projects becomes so difficult when it is under the office of government machinery. To scrutinize it is so difficult because if you want to even get the answers, who are you going to call from the office of government.

Mr. Oppong Asamoah stated that if the situation is not checked the initiative will suffer the same fate as others.

“If you call them, they will tell you about the National security issue so we cannot even go into that. That is what will happen to it but if it’s an initiative by the Ministry of Work and Housing there should be a budget allocation. So that we can also follow and see the right things are done. But so far as I have explained to you previously there wasn’t any provision in the budget so I don’t even know where they are going to gather that.”