Government in partnership with the private sector will provide seed money of GH¢100 million to commence the establishment of a National Rental Assistance Scheme, Mr Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, has said.

The scheme will use the additional investment from the private sector to provide low-interest loans to eligible Ghanaians to enable them to pay rent advance and ease the accommodation challenges in the country.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu who announced this on Friday during the presentation of the 2021 budget statement to Parliament, said the initiative was part of the government’s new reforms to enhance the quality of life of Ghanaians, support domestic entrepreneurs and businesses, and deepen access to public services.

He said other initiatives were the National Equipment Leasing Policy, the Transport Sector Recapitalization Project and the Enhanced Student Loan Scheme.

The Minister explained that the leasing policy would cover medical equipment, vehicles, photocopiers, printers, and scanners, among others as part of measures to efficiently manage the capital expenditure budget.

Under the transport sector recapitalization project, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the government would work towards the implementation of a long term Lease-to-Own financing arrangement for commercial vehicle owners and operators who needed to replace aged and un-roadworthy commercial vehicles.

On the student loan scheme, he said the government would commence planning towards the implementation of the Scheme to provide students, except for teacher and nurse trainees, an option to obtain a student loan without the requirement of a guarantor.

"The prospective student must have a National Identification Number from the GhanaCard," he added.