Ghana's Rent Control Department launches quarterly public accountability series
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The Rent Control Department has begun a quarterly public accountability series, with Acting Rent Commissioner Frederick Opoku saying the department must explain its decisions and report progress to landlords, tenants and the wider public.
Ghana's Rent Control Department has launched a quarterly public accountability series aimed at improving transparency, addressing operational challenges and informing the public about reforms intended to strengthen its services.
The initiative will provide a regular platform for the department to report on its progress, explain its decisions and engage the public on issues affecting landlords, tenants and other players in the rental sector.
Acting Rent Commissioner Frederick Opoku said the programme was designed to strengthen public confidence in the department and ensure its activities remained accountable to the people it served. He said public institutions have a responsibility to explain their actions and report on their performance rather than simply exercise the powers granted to them by law.
"The establishment of the RCD Public Accountability Series is informed by our belief that public institutions must not only exercise statutory responsibilities, but must also explain their actions, report their progress, and remain answerable to the people they serve," he said. He described the series as a platform for regular communication between the department and the Ghanaian public.
Mr Opoku outlined five main objectives for the initiative: rebuilding public trust, providing updates on reforms, educating people on rental laws, encouraging compliance and creating opportunities for public feedback. He said the department intends to use the platform to explain its administrative reforms, digital transformation efforts, institutional achievements and future priorities, and to provide information on the rights and responsibilities of landlords, tenants, property managers and rental agents under Ghana's rent laws.
The department also intends to use the programme to encourage voluntary compliance while making clear its commitment to lawful inspections, monitoring and enforcement. Mr Opoku said improving compliance will require both educating the public and ensuring the relevant laws are properly enforced, and that public participation would be important in identifying gaps in the department's operations. "We want the Ghanaian public to know what we are doing, why we are doing what we are doing, what challenges we face, and what results the public should expect," he said.