Cancel deal to sell SSNIT’s hotels to Bryan Acheampong – Oranised Labour barks

Isaac Bampoe Addo, the Executive Secretary of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) and Chairman of The Forum, announced that Organised Labour has successfully pressured the Board of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to abandon plans to divest 60% of its shares in four hotels.

Following a critical meeting with the SSNIT Board, chaired by veteran journalist Madam Elizabeth Ohene, Bampoe Addo conveyed that the leadership of Organised Labour firmly urged the Board to terminate the deal, which would have transferred ownership rights to Rock City Hotel, owned by the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong.

In an interview with the media on Thursday, May 30, Bampoe Addo highlighted the significance of labour’s intervention, stressing that SSNIT’s operations are sustained by workers’ contributions.

He asserted that Organised Labour is determined to assert control over SSNIT, ensuring that decisions regarding the management and utilisation of SSNIT funds align with contributors’ best interests.

“We were not convinced. There are so many negatives in the transaction that we have pointed out to them. How can you go through a tender process, give specifications, and then change those specifications along the line? Our Procurement Act does not allow this. We have told them to cancel the deal,” Bampoe Addo stated.

“We will take control; this is our money. SSNIT does not need to go ahead with the deal. They dare not proceed with the deal, and we have demanded a total restructuring of SSNIT,” he emphasized.

The transaction has faced strong criticism from various groups and individuals, including the Trades Union Congress, since it was revealed that Rock City Hotel had secured a bid to acquire a 60% stake in the four hotels.

The outcry grew louder following a formal petition by North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, urging the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to investigate the allegations surrounding the sale of the hotels.