Nyaniba Park Renovation Project - Nyaniba Estates. Accra

It all started off with a group of Nyaniba folks living in the US, UK, Europe and in Accra deciding to put some funds together to renovate the park at Nyaniba. Actually as far as I can remember, nothing has ever been done in terms of renovating this park. I remember as a kid many years ago walking past the park on my way to school, which was then Saint Michael's International School. I do not recall actually playing on the park. I do remember stopping on many occasions just to watch other kids and adults playing on it. Football was always the main sport played on it.

Recently there has been a lot of action surrounding the park. As far as I understand, there have been several attempts by unknown parties to gain control of the park and use it for personal projects. By this I mean building of houses. Others have also tried to encroach on it for reasons best known to them. Anyway in all these illegal attempts, the residents of Nyaniba have stood up to any hostility and retained the park. Moving forward it was decided that the park should be renovated as a legacy for the kids in Nyaniba. Since returning to Ghana on a frequent basis, I have on several occasions seen the park being used as a football pitch or as an overflow area for anyone having a funeral.

The current plan layout for the project seeks to have a basketball court, a football field - one that can host five-a-side, a table tennis area, a kids playground area and a couple of sitting areas. I took my Parrot Drone out to the park a couple of days ago and did a short flight to make a video recording of the park. For those who are abroad and have not been back for quite a while, watching the video should give you an update of what the park currently looks like. If you have moved out of Nyaniba, please watch the video.

Finally if you are interested in helping out financially with the Nyaniba Project, I would encourage you to contact James "Fella" Azu. If you have any questions James will be more than willing to answer them for you. Send me a text message/whatsapp message on 0245241811 and I will get James to contact you. 

Now enjoy the video below

Back In Ghana - Lunch With James And Family - Nyaniba Estates

Yes that is right, I am back in Ghana. Last year around the end of August, I took a three break to travel to Ghana and get Project Laingoye kicked off. Despite being a gruelling three months with challenges, i managed to accomplish what I planned and get things started.

I am now back. Updates on the project can be found on the "Project Laingoye" section of this blog. Why dont you take a trip over there and update yourself with where I currently stand with the building project and what is next on the project timeline.

In between sorting things out with the project, I have been "enjoying" myself.

There is currently a Project, initiated by Nyaniba UK residents and those in Nyaniba to renovate the Nyaniba Park. I have injected myself into this project. I had the blessed opportunity of meeting James "Fella" Azu, who is the main man on the ground in Nyaniba coordinating things from his end. I had my personal donation for the project and also donations from the UK to give to him. James invited me over to his house one Saturday to enjoy some fufu and a variety of Ghanaian soups. The experience was finger licking good. With the assistance of his wife Sky, I enjoyed every moment of my two lunch with them. So this is how it all went down. I arrived at his crib around 11AM and was offered a bottles of chilled Star beer. Then I was asked if I would like to sample some Alomo Silver. Of course I said. I am never one to shy away from a little adventure. Next was the fufu. As they say, a picture tells a whole lot more than words. Check out some optics I took of dish before it got totally demolished by me

The meal was delicious and I enjoyed every "atom" of it. When I got home, I sat down hoping to just relax for a little while. I actually dozed off for a good two hours and more. Life is certainly blessed and good, in Ghana. Thanks James and Sky. Love you both.

Building Permits and Approval of Architect Drawings

Getting paperwork right for Architectural Drawings approval from State Housing Company
By law, a building permit is required before anyone can build a house/building in Ghana. I came across a fantastic article by Emmanuel Mate-Kole, Esq. and Kow Essuman, Esq.
[Emmanuel is a lawyer and a leading associate in the Construction, Infrastructure and Transportation practice group at Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa and Ankomah.
Kow is a barrister; qualified to practise law in England and Wales, New York and Ghana. He is an associate in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice group with Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa and Ankomah. He is also a Global Shaper (Accra Hub) of the World Economic Forum, explaining most of what one needs to know about Building Permits in Ghana.]
I suggest you head over to Kow Essuman's Blog and have a good read. Other Ghanaian sites also have some well written information on Building Permits in Ghana. For example Ghana Home Blog has a piece on “How to get a Building Permit in Ghana in record time” 
Anyway the essence of a Building Permit to basically to cover your back. It is for your own benefit. The last thing you want is for all the money you have invested in you building to go down in a pile of rubble because you failed to follow the sensible route as required by you.
The architect who designed my building went to the AMA Offices in Labadi in an attempt to set the ball rolling for a Building Permit to be issued to me. Under normal circumstances, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly [aka AMA] Offices in Labadi would have proceeded to check everything and providing all was in order then issue a building permit. However the building I am planning of building is in Nyaniba Estates. Nyaniba Estates is an Estate that was built in the Nkrumah regime by the, at that time, State Housing Corporation.

Hence, I would need them to approve the architectural drawings before the Accra Metropolitan Assembly [aka AMA] Office in Labadi can provide me with a Building Permit. The State Housing Corporation has now been renamed to State Housing Company and still situated next to the State Transport Corporation when you are heading towards Abossey Okine. With four detailed copies of the architectural drawings, I went over to SHC to get things started. I was informed by a lady in Customer services that I needed to present the below listed to complete my application for my drawings to be approved.
1. An application letter [typed] requesting for PLOT 22 architectural drawings to be approved
2. A fee of GHC500.00
3. A photocopy of Indenture
4. A photocopy of Lease Documents
5. A photocopy of Letters Of Administration
6. A photocopy of my Mothers death certificate.

I went back into town and got all my photocopying done at Busy Internet. Just as a word of warning. At the time of writing this, Busy Internet is undergoing some major renovations. They have set up temporary offices outside the main building. Due to the lack of space, the photocopying section can get very crowded.
With everything in order, I went back to SHC a presented my application. Last week Friday, I got a call informing me that my application had been approved and that I needed to GHC14,000.00. I am not too sure about this payment required. I was not in the a favourable environment to ask questions, so I guess I will need to get confirmation on this when i return to the SHC offices on Tuesday 22nd September.

Flash Back - Funeral Of The Late Madam Elizabeth Laingoye Lartey

Memories are important, no matter how sad they are..

My Mum died in April 2000 after a short illness. Prior to her passing away, she worked for the Ghana Education Service as a Home Economist Teacher, holding this post in various secondary schools in the country. Her first posting as I recall was at Dormaa Secondary School. She then moved on to Sunyani Secondary Technical School, Aburi Grls Secondary School and Tamale Technical Institute. When she retired, she set up a Creche at her residence in Nyaniba Estates and called it Gye Nyame Creche.

Ghana Rent Control Offices - A Bloody Joke Or What?

There seems to be something seriously wrong with the way things are being run at Ghana's Rent Control Offices in Accra. Talk about Piss-taking! I have been trying to get rid of a tenant from my property for the best part of five months now [ tis excludes the three months grace period given to her on paper]. I have blogged the events leading to her eviction on this blog, so if you are interested, you are welcome to read and acquaint yourself with the details. So this officer at the Rent Control Offices has been asking my representative in Accra [ and the tenant] to turn up at his office and on each occasion, he has had a story to tell as to why he hasn't come to a conclusion on what action needs to be taken. As of this Monday, the 17th, my representative has been to his office 4 times, and on each occasion, he has given her another date to return to his office. On her last trip, when she got there, he told her that he had not finished writing out the judgement. What the hell. Is this guy for real?

So I did a quick search on the internet and below is what I came up with regarding the Rent Control Offices in Accra, Ghana

Department Flooded with Complaints, Unable to Address Renter’s Needs

In Ghana, the Rent Control Department is mandated to settle disputes between landlords, tenants, and other interested parties. Long delays and inconsistent practices have marred the department’s reputation in recent years.

Madam Comfort, a tenant at Buashie in Accra who lodged a complaint against her landlord for unlawfully trying to evict her.  But after multiple visits where no progress was made, Comfort says she eventually stopped going back. “I went there several times and waited several hours. I stopped going there because I was wasting money and time at the place,” she says.

A visit to the Rent Control Department in Accra revealed a flood of unhappy landlords and angry tenants with a variety of complaints. Fred Tawiah of the Accra office of Rent Control Department says he hears complaints of “nuisance” and “unpaid rents” everyday. With a pile of documented rent cases on his desk, Tawiah admits that the office is understaffed and unable to adequately hear all of the cases. With a long sigh Tawiah says there is a strong need to build more houses in Accra and says he encourages government leaders to invest in housing construction.

The above was sourced from www.globalpressinstitute.org. There are several key points to this snipet

1. The Rent Control Department is mandated to settle disputes between Landlords and Tenants - this is obviously not the case. Interestedly enough, the person who has been tossing my representative up and down is the same person named in this article: Fred Tawiah. With a cut and dry case like this, why has he resorted to changing dates so many times? ]

2. Madam Comfort has been to the offices several times, only to be disappointed on each visit because nothing could be done to assist her. Just imagine the amount of money this poor lady had to spend on each trip. With the people placed in charge to resolve issues dragging their feet, how are things supposed to progress in a positive manner there?

3. Of course Mr Tawiah will have a "truck load" of cases pending on his desk, because he is dragging his feet on the ones he can easily resolve. Is this what the tax payers money is being used for?

Another link I found on the web is on MC Modern Ghana webpage. Check it out. This article was written in June this year!!

I am simply pissed off with this guy and intend to do something about this.

Nightmare On Blogodo Road - 23/08/2011

Who said God doesn't answer prayers?

So since my last update, a few things have been happening here and there regarding the saga I have with Ms Florence Massoud. There have been a few more visits to the Rent Control Offices, and also the guy handling the case at the Rent Control Offfice has taken a trip to my property to have a look around. Why, only God knows, however my agent did inform me that Ms Florence was seeking repayment of money she has invested in the renovation of the main building, but I doubt that was his reason for taking the trip there - Lord help us.

And another development has arisen - a good and positive one I should say. , My current tenants have decided to vacate the main building. According to my tenant, he has been offered a contract in another part of Ghana, hence renting the property will no longer be required - fair enough. I do have my suspicions though and I am certain that Ms Florence Massoud has been pestering  them. Well they have gone now, which I personally think is a blessing in disguise because Ms Florence Massoud can now take her stuff out of the main building and I can replace them together with any other work that needs to be done.

So, why my first statement "Who said God doesn't answer prayers"; I got a text message from my agent 2 days ago informing that Ms Florence Massoud was packing her stuff from the out house she is currently occupying. You can imagine my joy sandwiched between the surprises . I seriously thought I would have to purposely go back to Ghana to personally throw this woman out of my house.

My agent says she will still have to make that final trip to the Rent Control Offices as requested by the Officer the for his verdict. One thing though, I am not lowering my guard regarding Ms Florence Massoud all because I do not trust her. People of her nature always seem to have something up their sleeves.

My lessons learnt so far? 
1. Get someone to make regular visits to your property on your behalf on a regular basis. Stick the money into a high earning account. At the end of the day, if you don't have to use the money, at least you can earn some interest out of it.
2. Demand a deposit from any potential tenant. The will used to offset any cost you the Landlord might incur if the tenant damages your property.
3.  Never lease your property out for more than two years in a row. For example, if you someone wants to lease your property for 6 years and you are comfortable with that, then just renew the lease every 2 years with the option to cancel the lease after a period of the agreed by both of you.
4. Do not lease to individuals, unless they are filthy rich. Lease out to companies and even then, they must be bloody rich. Do an intensive investigation on the company or person. All this is in aid of giving yourself some piece of mind.

Nightmare On Blogodo Road - 27/06/2011 Update

It has been several weeks since Ms Akosua was, yet again , at the Rent Control Office with Ms Florence Massoud. I am slowly beginning to think that all these trips to the Rent Control Office is becoming a waste of time. Here is why: for the past 2 - 3 visits, the feedback I have had from my representative has been to do with Ms Florence Massoud expressing her concerns about the her belongings in the main building, and other irrelevant issues. There has been no mention of why she has overstayed her welcome even though the contract her business partner signed clearly states that they had to vacate after ten years. I thought that the Rent Control Office was there to make sure that tenants or landlords didn't take undue advantage over each other. Do not get me wrong I have not lost faith, i just feel that time is being wasted. Maybe I could be wrong. I am yet to learn something new.

So, at the last visit, this is what went down.
1. Ms Florence Massoud wants to charge $40 USD per day for her furniture being used in the main building. This would cover a period from January 2011 up to when she retrieved her stuff from the main building. When my agent told me this, I nearly fainted. What a load of rubbish. I was certainly not happy with this. More worrying was that all these deliberations are  being held in the presence of a qualified lawyer for the Rent Control Office. Anyway, I received a call from Ms Akosua and she has consulted a lawyer regarding this.
2. When Ms Florence was asked when she can remove her stuff from the main building, her response was "I do not know". Can you imagine this? At this point the lawyer for the Rent Control Office stepped and she said that she had to do better than that. So she finally caved in and agreed to an immediate date.

Another meeting is scheduled for the  12th of next month. Hopefully this will be the final one. My advice to those of you who wish to rent out your properties; perform an exhaustive research on the person/people you wish to rent the property out to. Get a reference - this is certainly important. Make sure that the reference is from a respected person/organisation. Yes, a rent advance is the way forward. You MUST make sure that you get this paid to you. No one knows what is round the corner. if for any reason your tenants suddenly turn out to be from hell, then you will have something to fall onto asa way of compensation. Contracts - be very meticulous in the word and write up. Personally, I would go for renewable 6 month contracts.

Nightmare On Blogodo Road - Getting Rid Of My Tenant From Hell

You might not think this to be of any use to you or will never happen to you but I would suggest that you read my account anyway, you just never know. After reading my account,you might encounter a friend who might need snippets of information from this. If thats the case, please pass it on. As I have already mentioned, you just never know.......

My nightmare on Blogodo Road started 10 years ago when my Mother, Elizabeth Laingoye Lartey passed away. After her burial, I entrusted the renting out of her house to my late Uncle Adjin ( a very bad and foolish move by me, knowing fully well of his history when it comes to matters like this). I was in the UK when my Uncle rung up to inform me that he had found a tenant for my late Mums house at Nyaniba. So I got the trip down to Accra with the intension of sorting out the rent with my new tenants. Their names were kenneth Astrom and Florence Massoud and they rented the property under the company name of Afro Satcom Ltd. Two days after arriving in Accra, I took a trip to Nyaniba with Alhaji Said Sinare and Ms Mariama Alhassan. When we got there, we immediately noticed that there were some renovation working taking place in the main building. Said's immediate reaction was that there must have been some exchange of money before this renovation would have taken place. So the next day I questioned my Uncle who assured me that he hadn't collected any money and that Kenneth was expecting me so that we could sort out the rent. All this didn't sit well with me, however I went the next day to see Kenneth at Nyaniba.  When I got there, I met Florence Massoud, Kenneth's partner. ten minutes into our conversation immediately revealed to me that some money had exchanged hands, to be exact $6,000.00 US dollars. She even brought out a receipt to confirm the payment. And this was where I made my first mistake I should have halted whatever work was being done on the house. After asking my Uncle several times to the rent advance he had collected, I finally gave up as it dawned on me that I wasn't going to get a dime from that money.

So over the years, a lot has happened. There has been breeches of the Tenancy agreement by the tenants, to which I have failed to act on mainly because of the fact that I didn't appoint a person to visit the property on a regular basis, some one like an Estate Agent.  So if you ever decide to rent out your property, please seek the assistance of a qualified Estate Agent. Do not worry about the thought of paying for the services, at least your interest will be placed first. On a few occasions, I employed my then lawyer to sort this out, but being who and what he is, nothing happened.

Currently, the tenancy agreement has come to the end of its life span. Last year in January, the tenant wanted a 5 year extension of the tenancy agreement. I flatly refused this. Nearer to the time the agreement was to expire, I travelled to Ghana on another business and took the opportunity to remind the tenant that I would be coming back to Ghana on the 2nd of January 2011 to collect the keys to the premises. The tenant took this meeting to request again for an extension which I refused. She even went to the extent of getting a lawyer to officially request for an extension for her. I immediately wrote back to refuse the request. Basically I had bloody had enough of this tenant and needed the premises for myself and family. I later got to learn that the tenant had rented out the main building to a couple for a period that extended past her tenancy agreement with me. How dubious can one get. She also failed to mention to the couple that her tenancy agreement was ending on the 1st of this month.

I arrived in Ghana on the 1st of January. On the 2nd, I called the tenant several times in an attempt to meet up with her. Not on one occasion did she pick up her [hone on that sunday. It appears the cat and mouse chase had started. The next day, early in the morning, I got a call from the tenant. She informed me that she was on her way to F515/4 Nyaniba Estates, and that I should meet her there at 10AM. Some Ghanaians are really fickle with their time keeping. This tenant fell exactly into that category of Ghanaians. She finally arrived  at 11.15AM. The next 30 minutes between us almost turned into world war 3. After providing me with a seat to sit down, this woman told me that by law I am supposed to give her 3 months notice to quit the property. In fact, her mentioning this suddenly pissed me off. The reason I was pissed of was because this woman waited all this time to tell me this. She knew I was coming to Ghana to collect the keys, she could have called me to preempt me. Anyway, i was not going to let this piss me off any further.

So far: I have issued her with an eviction notice, giving her 3 months to look for accommodation else where. However I have got wind of some information that she is asking certain people within Nyaniba Estates if anyone knows of a house in Nyaniba which hasn't been renovated. Further to that, she has requested from her previous tenants (tenants she has rented out the main building to) permission to make an assessment of the main building. They immediately refused her permission. My immediate reaction was "what the hell is this woman up to". Then it dawned on me that she wants to make an assessment of how much she has spent in renovating the place and then get some money back from me.  I dug out the original contract I drew up with Afro SAtcom and lo an behold the contract mentioned that if the tenant wanted to change any aspect of the original build, he/she would need to put this into writing. I have never in the past 10 years received a request from the tenant.

My next stop is to get my lawyer to officially write to her with supporting documents attached to state categorically she MUST leave the building at the end of the grace period. To make sure that I am acting within the strict confines of the law, I am seeking further advice as to when the use of force (getting the police involved) can be applied.

Do not be bitten and gnawed by a tenant from hell as I have been. Since the very beginning, I lost focus but by Gods Grace nothing as yet goes against me, except for the tenant is staying on for another 3 months, which I can handle. But just imagine the frustration that would have cropped up if I desperately needed that accommodation then and there!