By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The Majority Leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu constituency in the central region, Mr. Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, has admonished management of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), to release very single document related to the proposed sale of its shares in four hotels to the Minister for Food and Agriculture and New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Mpraeso, Dr. Bryan Acheampong.
After the exposé of the sale of 60% shareholdings in the five hotels owned by SSNIT to a politically connected individual by the MP of North Tongu, Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, and subsequently petitioning the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to probe the deal, many Ghanaians have expressed outrage about the whole deal.
Stakeholders like the organised labour unions, the Trade Union Congress (TUC), National Association of Teachers (NAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Local and Civil Servants Association, among others, have raised concerns about a possible conflict of interest in the transaction and have called for its immediate termination.
Touching on the issue, the Majority Leader of Ghana’s Parliament admonished SSNIT to provide a detailed explanation of the deal to the public.
“Let me make this appeal to SSNIT. SSNIT must come out, make the documents available, and speak to it. I mean, they cannot be dodgy. This is not a political matter. I cannot come and speak to it politically, condemn it, or commend it.
SSNIT must come out, and even not only this decision, it must look at all their investments that are failing and explain them to the public.
I am sure that TUC and other labour unions will understand if these things are explained and they will take away Bryan Acheampong as a person and understand that, let’s not look at the form but at the substance,” he said.
SSNIT, according to its own statement released on the controversial sale of its shares, said it is in the final stages of selling 60% of its shares in the following hotels: Elmina Beach Resort, Ridge Royal Hotel, La Palm Royal Beach Resort, and Labadi Beach Hotel to Rock City Hotel, which is owned by Dr. Acheampong.
