Former KNUST SRC President, Dr. Samuel Sesah, has alleged that a Rent Commissioner in Kumasi demanded a bribe from him and his team before intervening in concerns over rising hostel accommodation fees for students.
In a social media post addressing the growing debate over high hostel rents near tertiary institutions on Friday, May 7, 2026, Dr. Sesah who served as KNUST SRC president in the 2020/21 academic year, recounted an encounter he said occurred six years ago while seeking regulatory action on behalf of students.
“6 years ago, a Rent Commissioner at Kumasi asked my team and I for money ‘bribe’ before they stepped in to address an issue that is dear and disturbing to any parent and student,” he alleged.
The former student leader said the incident reflected broader weaknesses within Ghana’s rent control and enforcement systems, particularly as hostel costs continue to rise around universities.
According to him, hostel rents around institutions including the University of Ghana, KNUST and the University of Cape Coast have “been rising faster than inflation and student incomes.”
Dr. Sesah, however, commended recent efforts by the current Rent Commissioner to engage directly with hostel operators over pricing concerns.
“It is refreshing to see the country’s Rent Commissioner doing this by himself,” he wrote.
He argued that the hostel accommodation crisis is rooted in structural problems, including weak enforcement of the Rent Act and lack of transparency in pricing.
“The problem is structural, high demand, low supply, weak enforcement of the Rent Act, and no price transparency,” he stated.
Dr. Sesah further called for reforms within the Rent Control system, proposing stricter enforcement mechanisms, digital registration of student hostels, and sanctions against illegal practices in the rental sector.
