UG Accommodation: Reduce your interest rate to attract investors – UGBS Lecturer urges management

Financial Economist at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), Prof. Lord Mensah has urged management of the institution to reduce its interest rate while leasing lands to investors.

According to him, this measure if rolled out, will attract additional private stakeholders to step in with the perspective of finding a lasting solution to the perennial accommodation crisis.

Speaking on our morning show Campus Exclusive, he opined that the school’s involvement in the pricing of private hostels built on its lands makes the process unattractive for investors.

“Because of the interest of the government and the social undertone of education in the country, you will see that the price has to be bid down by the government.

My advice will be that the University and the government should take their hands off completely and then reduce possibly their interest so that when the private Man comes in He can easily recoup His money and then it will help other investors to come in,” he said.

In his view, lessons learned from the construction of the four University of Ghana Enterprise Limited facilities popularly known as ‘diaspora’, define the behavior of prospective investors in supporting the school to deal with the accommodation crisis.

“The diaspora structure was financed by a private bank, and if you finish and you do your computation and you suppose to allow students to pay 2000 Ghana cedis and the government says, you can’t charge 2000 cedis because at the end of the day, the building is on our land and the main halls are not charging to that extent, do you think investors will come in?” Prof. Mensah quizzed.

As part of a short-term plan, Prof. Mensah proposed the reintroduction of the In-Out-Out-In accommodation system to alleviate the plight of freshers who struggle on a yearly basis to secure a place to stay for their academic activities.

However, General Secretary of the National Union of Ghana Students, Julius Kwame Anthony described the idea of bringing back the In-Out-Out-In accommodation system as a ‘lazy approach’ in resolving the crisis.