In Akwatia this week, hotel rooms are harder to find than campaign slogans. The hotly contested by-election has triggered an unprecedented scramble for accommodation, transforming the town and its adjoining constituencies into a commercial goldmine for the hospitality industry.

Ordinarily priced at GH¢100, hotel rooms are now going for prices between GH¢300 and GH¢400 — a meteoric rise fueled by the influx of political operatives, journalists, and security personnel. Yet, even at these inflated prices, the rooms remain fully booked.

Political parties, determined to secure strategic bases for their campaign operations, have pitched camp in the few hotels within Akwatia and its surrounding towns. The scarcity has grown so dire that some residents have vacated their own homes to rent them out for cash.

Compounding the situation is the heavy security presence. More than 6,000 police officers have been deployed to the constituency to ensure a violence-free and transparent electoral process. Yet, even the administration’s efforts to secure all the major hotels across the three constituencies were not enough to accommodate the full deployment. As a result, sizeable numbers of officers have had to perch at primary and junior high schools, underscoring the scale of the logistical challenge.

For many visitors, the struggle has been relentless. As GhanaWeb’s own team discovered on arrival in Akwatia, securing accommodation required six hours of searching across three constituencies — all to no avail. It took the benevolence of a Kade native resident in Accra to eventually provide a fitting place to rest.

With the by-election just hours away, the atmosphere in Akwatia is charged, not only with political anticipation but also with the unmistakable hum of commerce that has turned the town into an unlikely hotspot for the hospitality industry.