Prison Officers locked out of homes for nonpayment of rent

Fourteen Senior Officers of the Prison Service in Takoradi have been locked out of their homes by an angry landlord for non-payment of rent.

The officers, who have been occupying the 14-flat facility at Fijai, a suburb of Takoradi, for nearly two years, are alleged to be owing the landlord GHc129,000.

Joy News Kwaku Owusu Peprah, who witnessed the lock out, reports that the landlord said he was tired of the many unfulfilled promises by the Prisons authorities to pay the rent.

“The last communication was done on the 17th of June 2013, asking them to make payments before 1st of July else I will take this action, [but] nobody from the Ghana Prisons Service…communicated to me,” the landlord told Owusu-Peprah.

According to the landlord, John Kobina Adisu, he even called the Regional Commander, DDP J.E Kaku about the matter, but that did not yield any positive outcome.

The landlord also complained that the Prison Service have not discussed plans on how to clear their debts, even though they put pressure on him to complete works on the flat.

According to Mr Adisu, because he had to take huge loans to complete work on the flat, the non-payment of rent by the service is affecting him.

Kwaku Owusu-Peprah said the Service is yet to issue a statement on which action to take, but while they decide what to do, the Senior Officers are still locked out from their home.