0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline">Cape Town – Ghanaian Minister of Works and
Housing Samuel Atta Akyea has asked landlords to check the Covid-19 status of foreigners before renting out property to them.
0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline">According
to Citi Newroom (CNR), during a briefing with the media on Tuesday, the minister
stated this should be a mandatory procedure by landlords.
0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline">Atta
Akyea stated that if foreign potential tenants did not test negative for Covid-19, properties should not be leased to
them.
0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline">“Landlords must also be wary of potential tenants from
foreign countries. It is mandatory to insist that without a Covid-19-negative clearance the landlord should not rent out the premises.
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color:#333333">“We all know that this pandemic has been imported, so be careful
that in the name of dollars you do not go and bring in a foreigner who hasn’t
been given clearance that he or she is not infected by the disease to come and live
on the premises.
0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline">
color:#333333">“I need not remind you that the virus is an importation from
foreigners and those who had contact with them prior to the lockdown,” Atta
Akyea said.
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color:#333333">He said the government had the capacity to cover rent for those not
able to meet their financial obligations to their landlords; however, his
office had yet to hear of any evictions of tenants.
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color:#333333">“If someone should push that if people who have no place to live as
a direct result of the Covid-19 challenges should have their rent paid, we
should be able to absorb it. We have the financial space,” Atta Akyea said.
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color:#333333">The minister said that should it come to his attention that residents were being evicted because they could not pay their rent because of the Covid-19
pandemic, his office would look at the numbers and take it from there.
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color:#333333">“Let’s see if there are numbers. We shouldn’t just wave our
hands and say we should pay the rent of people who are suffering as a result of
the Covid-19 numbers, but if we see the numbers, we will see what we can do,”
Atta Akyea said.
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