Activist and lawyer Oliver Barker-Vormawor
Activist and lawyer Oliver Barker-Vormawor has raised concerns over what he describes as serious distortions in Ghana’s rental market, citing a personal experience as an example.
In a post shared on his X page on November 22, 2025, Barker-Vormawor recounted helping a friend secure a property in 2025.
According to him, the property was initially listed at GH¢10,000, slightly above their budget, and was already being occupied by another tenant as they tried to negotiate the price down to GH¢9,000.
A year later, he noted that the same property had resurfaced on the market at a significantly higher price of US$1,500 per month, equivalent to nearly GH¢17,000 at current exchange rates.
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“The property was listed at 10,000 cedis for rent. It was out of his budget but he liked it. So we were trying to get the landlord to accept 9,000 cedis for it. Sadly, someone was ahead in the queue and got it. It’s a year later. The property is back on the market. It is listed at 1,500 dollars (nearly 17,000 cedis),” he shared.
Barker-Vormawor contrasted the new price with movements in the cedi-dollar exchange rate.
He explained that when the property was first listed at GH¢10,000, the dollar was trading around GH¢16, placing the rent at approximately US$625. With the dollar now near GH¢11, he argued that the cedi equivalent should have decreased rather than surged.
“Something is broken about Ghana. I can’t put my finger on it. But it’s not working la!” he added.
Read the full post below:
Last year, I was helping a friend find a property to rent.
The property was listed at 10,000 cedis for rent. It was out of his budget but he liked it. So we were trying to get the landlord to accept 9000 cedis for it.
Sadly, someone was ahead in the queue and got it. It’s a… pic.twitter.com/RRo4oEjKdX
— Osagyefo Oliver Barker-Vormawor (@barkervogues) November 22, 2025
SP/MA
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