Landlord to Eject Education Ministry's Tenant, If...

Government is likely to be drawn into a tussle from owners of the plush residence housing the Association of African Universities (AAU), an international institution, if the Ministry of Education does not enter into a tenancy agreement and pay the required outstanding rent accrued on it.

Provoked by the non-payment of rent by the ministry, the landlord of the property, which is No. 152, Roman Ridge Ambassadorial Estate, has threatened to eject the occupants from the premises and institute legal action to retrieve the sum involved.

The Ministry of Education has failed to pay rent on the house since December 31, last year as well as the balance for the year 2000, which accrued following a verbal agreement to increase the rent by 10% arrived at by both parties.

Sources said Nana Appiah-Num, Director of Administration of the Ministry of Education, represented government in the negotiations.

The source said that Nana and one Mrs. Aboagye, also of the ministry, some time ago met the representative of the landlord, Mr. I. Aboagye, and they agreed to offer $1,500 a month as rent as against $2,000 a month, demanded by the landlord.

After the Land Valuation Board had assessed the building at the request of the ministry, it was valued at less than $1,000 dollars per month, which was far below the amount demanded by the landlord, Chronicle enquiries revealed.

According to sources, the landlord and his representative had made several efforts at getting the ministry to settle the rent arrears for the year 2000 and legitimize it by entering into a tenancy agreement since the beginning of last year but to no avail.

The house was illegally confisticated during the 1979 revolution and later allocated to the association by the People's National Defence Committee (PNDC) through the Confisticated Assets Committee.

In 1999, it was restored to its owner, a retired Cocoa Board Officer, who is currently resident in London, following a petition to the government. The building was at the time occupied by the association.

The situation forced the owner of the estate to heed to Government's request to rent the house out for the continuous use of the international body, sources intimated.

Despite the "restoration" of the estate to its owner, its continuous use by the international body without government settling the accumulated rent makes it look as though it had been re-confisticated by the government, children of the landlord argued.

When Chronicle contacted the Director of Administration in his office last Thursday, he admitted that the ministry owed the landlord on the estate but was quick to add that there was lack of funds to settle its indebtedness.

Nana noted that the verbal agreement struck with the landlord could not be binding since the Land Valuation Board had valued the estate at less than $1,000 per month.

Indicating that some funds could now be made available to settle the accumulated rent, he said government would this month pay about ?69million to the landlord.

According to Nana, the payment would be made possible since funds are released to the ministry quarterly.