#FixHostelPrices: NANA KWESI ESHUN HONORED AN INVITATION FROM THE COMMITTE FOR REVIEWING THE PRICING MECHANISM OF HOSTELS, KNUST

Nana Kwesi Eshun, the petitioner in the #FixHostelPrices campaign honored an invitation from the committee for reviewing the pricing mechanism of KNUST hostels. The KNUST Dean of Students who is the Chairman of this committee and his members asked of ways that can help leverage the pricing of hostels.

The meeting was an enlightening interaction with dignitaries on the committee brainstorming on the subject matter; "REVIEWING MECHANISM OF KNUST HOSTELS" to find a lasting solution to the outrageous increase in hostel prices yearly.

Nana Kwesi Eshun shared some thoughts with the committee, emphasizing that campus hostels are most at times expensive than off-campus hostels. Citing Chancellors hall (Hall 7), Brunei, and SRC hostels which benefit from the school resources increase their prices every year. This makes it difficult for off-campus hostel managers to reduce their prices using hostels on campus as a yardstick.

Private hostels charge huge sums of money without including tariffs which becomes an additional burden to students and families. Management should see to it and let the prices of hostels should include tariffs. He argued.

He argued that the best way to stabilize the pricing is to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of hostel facilities. Without it, students would every year have to prepare mentally and emotionally for the abnormal increase of hostel fees. He asked the committee to set up an inter-party body that will be autonomous to oversee the activities of hostels on and off-campus like the University of Ghana Enterprise Limited.

He further went on to ask why management has not been proactive in building sister halls of the traditional halls from the monies accrued from these halls since their establishment and it is time to do so.

Below are some brief suggestions by Nana Kwesi Eshun to the committee;

Government as a matter of urgency should grant a maximum of 5 years tax amnesty to private hostel managers and a reduction of interest rate on their loans: most of the hostel managers complain of the high rate of tax imposed on them and the interest rate on their loan servicing. So within this period, management should opt for IPO with Government agencies like SSNIT and others to build more hostel facilities on campus. Then while this amnesty last, government can now peg the price of hostel fees at equilibrium.
Asokore Mampong Housing Project which is almost 17 minutes drive should be modified into hostels: the housing project has about 1024 units which SSNIT has occupied 150 out of it and the remaining is left to rot. Government and the school management can utilize it since it will service about 3,500 to 4,000 students. This is one way to help bridge the gap between the demand and supply of facilities.  
Government should facilitate the process of taking over the SRC hostel and pay off the loans which was used to complete the entire phase of the hostel. This is because the SRC hostel price has become expensive and more expensive than certain hostels off-campus and if possible include the take over of Hall 7. I strongly believe campus hostels should not be expensive. 
 He believes when these things are proactively done, within the five years amnesty, there will be an equilibrium of hostel pricing for that period without any marginal percentage increase.
He thanked the committee for the opportunity and prayed his suggestions and suggestions made by his colleagues will be considered.
Background:
In the wake of students' agitation over the abnormal surge of hostel pricing during the 2020-21 academic year, Nana Kwesi Eshun knowing very well that the school has little to solve the situation, petition the Vice-Chancellor to intervene on the situation. The Vice-Chancellor then directs the Dean to attend to the situation after she responded to the request sent to her office. 
Read more about that using the link. https://nanacwesi.blogspot.com/2021/07/knust-vice-chancellor-replies-nana.html

After a couple of weeks, He went further to petition Rt Hon Alban Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, Ministry of Works and Housing, and Ghana Rent Control Department, Accra to intervene in the uncontrolled hostel prices affecting the livelihood of students.
These efforts by Nana Kwesi Eshun made it possible for setting up a committee to look into the situation at hand. But it wouldn't be possible without the outcry of students making it a national discussion.