Accra Mall tenants bemoan unreasonable practices by managers

Tenants in the Accra Mall have protested against what they described as “unreasonable practices” by managers of the mall.

Among other things, the tenants are protesting against high rent, pricing rent in dollars against Bank of Ghana rules, the lack of promotional activities, and the insufficient and deplorable conditions of the washrooms at the mall.

Addressing the media, the President of the Accra Mall Tenants Association, Mr John Baidoo, said in October last year, the association took the decision to temporarily close their shops as a result of a number of issues that were negatively affecting their operations at the mall.

He said although the management of the of the mall assured them that they would channel their grievances to the landlords, the issues still remain unresolved.

Mr Baidoo stated that the collapse of parts of the ceiling of the mall last year led to low patronage, especially due to the long time it took management to fix the ceiling.

“We raised concerns about the manner in which the repair works were being done, the period of time it took to fully repair the ceiling and the resulting low patronage which negatively affected our revenue”, Mr Baidoo stated.
Read: Accra Mall tenants close shops to protest ‘poor management’ ...

High rents

The association, he said, also raised issues with high rents and the frequency with which they were increased without recourse to the prevailing economic conditions and the tenants.

“We sell in cedis but they charge us in dollars,” he stated.

“The lack of promotional activities by management of the mall to improve revenue was another concern we raised. We realised our revenue flows were greatly reduced during the period the ceiling was being repaired and we were, therefore, drawing management’s attention in order for some promotional activities to be done to increase patronage to the mall,” he added.

Mr Baidoo also said the washrooms at the mall were insufficient and in deplorable states, a situation they had informed management about for over a year, but nothing had been done about it.

COVID-19
He said the last straw that broke the camel’s back was the management’s decision to maintain the full rent in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, in spite of the initial assurances that it would be reduced.

“At the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic, we proposed a reduction of the rent due to the fact that patronage of the mall as well as sales were negatively affected by the lockdown and border closure”, Mr Baidoo said.

He said the management, however, insisted on full rent for the month of March although the government lockdown and closure of the borders and airspace commenced in March.

“Due to subsequent pressure from the tenants, management subsequently granted the tenants a full rebate for the month of April. However, for the month of May, management reduced the rent by only 25 per cent despite the fact that there was full-scale lockdown in place.

“The management has since been silent on the rent charges for June, July and August. It is poignant to note that the tenants depend solely on patronage by customers to generate revenue and the lockdown in all its forms has greatly affected our revenue generation,” he explained.

He said over 2,000 jobs were at risk if the management and owners of the place did not do something immediately.

The association indicated that it was ready to use all the available provisions available to them under the laws of the country to fight the ‘unreasonable practices’.

Mall management

When the Daily Graphic contacted the management of the mall for comment on the allegations, one of the managers at the mall, Mrs Denise Asare, said the management would issue a press statement in due course.