The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) had announced its decision to sell its 60 percent stake in four hotels to Rock City Hotel, which is owned by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong.
However, this move was fraught with several challenges as some Ghanaians, including Organized Labour and the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, cited conflict of interest, procurement breaches, and lack of due process.
After several agitations, Rock City withdrew from the bidding process, and SSNIT subsequently announced the termination of the sale of its 60 percent stake in the four hotels.
Speaking on the growing development on Citi Breakfast Show on Monday, July 15, 2024, the Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Kofi Bosompem Osafo-Maafo, said the termination of the deal was because the concerns raised by key stakeholders did not fall on deaf ears.
He said SSNIT, together with all relevant stakeholders, has the same objective, which is to improve the revenue of the four hotels — Labadi Beach Hotel, La Palm Royal Beach Resort, Elmina Beach Resort, and Busua Beach Resort.
Mr. Osafo-Maafo further disclosed that SSNIT management and board rejected the terms of payment by Rock City, hence another factor that led to the termination of the sale.
“We listened to the objections from the stakeholders and we decided to terminate the process. If you remember, when we had the press conference, we said we would engage all the stakeholders and we have been doing that since then. The unions have also been vociferous and we listened to their demands and decided to terminate the process,” the SSNIT Director-General said on the show.
“My team and I met with the unions and the Labour and Employment Minister, and we had two engagements with the NPRA, so there has been continuous engagement and where we are now, we are all seeking the same objective, which is to improve the revenue of the hotels,” he added.
Kofi Bosompem Osafo-Maafo further stated that, “We went into a negotiation process; it was the management and board of SSNIT that rejected the terms of payment…The terms of payment were the subject of the negotiation, and therefore we sought to continue the negotiation to reach a solution that was acceptable.”
He pledged to continue engaging Organized Labour and other relevant stakeholders to improve the operations and investment portfolios of the Trust.
The Director-General of SSNIT has in several interviews said apart from raising capital and finding experts to manage the hotels, the ultimate goal was to manage investment risks to improve investment returns.
Kofi Osafo-Maafo said the rationale for the investment decision included consistent losses, frequent request for maintenance funding, high capital expenditure and the need for strategic partnership.
SA/NOQ