Management of Ghana Hostels Limited is demanding an immediate apology from the Acting Rent Commissioner, Fredrick Opoku, over comments made about accommodation charges at the Pentagon Hostel on the campus of the University of Ghana.

In a statement issued on May 13, the company said remarks made by the Acting Rent Commissioner during an interview on Hitz FM created a false impression about the operations and pricing system at the hostel facility.

Ghana Hostels Limited explained that although the hostel is an investment of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust, the management and pricing of rooms are independently handled by the company.

Management argued that the comments were made without proper verification and unfairly portrayed the hostel as insensitive to the welfare of students.

The company also defended its accommodation fees, stating that standard four-in-one rooms at the Old Pentagon cost just over seven-thousand Ghana cedis annually per student, while rooms at the New Pentagon cost nearly eight-thousand nine-hundred cedis per academic year.

According to management, the fees cover utilities including water, electricity allocation and student association dues.

Ghana Hostels Limited further rejected claims that students are being exploited through excessive charges, insisting that its rates remain competitive compared to several private hostels around the university community.

Addressing reports of an alleged twenty-eight-thousand cedi hostel fee, management clarified that such charges apply only to a small number of premium rooms fitted with extra facilities such as air conditioners and larger beds.

The company says those premium rooms make up less than five percent of the hostel’s total accommodation capacity and are optional for students.

Management has therefore called on the Acting Rent Commissioner to retract his comments and apologise for what it describes as misleading statements made during the radio programme.