How rent almost ruined our finances when Lordina and I started married life – Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has recounted how he and his wife, First Lady Lordina Mahama, struggled to find affordable accommodation when they started their married life as a young couple.

Speaking at an event, President Mahama said the experience exposed him to the difficulties many young Ghanaian couples continue to face when looking for a home, including high rent advances and fees paid to estate agents.

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He said after leaving his father’s house to start life with Lordina, they spent considerable time moving around Accra in search of a suitable and affordable home.

“Securing a home can be exhausting and frustrating… When I left my father's house to start life with Lordina as a young couple, we encountered what many young Ghanaian families face when looking for accommodation,” he recounted.

The couple eventually found a home at Madina New Road, but Mahama said the cost of securing the house placed a major strain on their finances.

“Lordina and I eventually found a home, and we settled at Madina New Road to begin married life together. The miles we covered with estate agents roaming the sprawling city of Accra in search of something that was suitable and affordable was a very exhausting exercise,” he said.

He said rent advance, estate agent fees, and other charges nearly left them financially strained before they had properly begun their life together.

“The chalewote fees, the multiple years' rent advance, and the one-month extra rent fee that is paid to the agent who found you the house almost ruined our finances even before we had started married life together,” he disclosed.

President Mahama said many young Ghanaians continue to face similar challenges, with large rent advances taking away money that could have been used for other important needs.

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“Many young Ghanaians are experiencing the same situation even as I speak today. Substantial rent advances can deplete savings that were intended for a child's education or to run a small business for the family,” he noted.

“And so this human reality is what must guide our deliberations in the next few years,” he added.

MAG/VPO

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