The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has released another installment of his ongoing revelations regarding the proposed sale of four government-majority-owned hotels.
Over the past few weeks, Ablakwa has shared documents supporting his belief that the intended sale of majority shares of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to a company owned by Agriculture Minister Bryan Acheampong is not in the state’s best interest.
He has pointed out that certain documents indicate profitability for the hotels in question, while the selected buyer, Rock City Hotels Limited, reportedly operated at a loss during the same period.
In his latest disclosure, Ablakwa highlighted how a senior aide to the Vice President, Prof. Kwaku Appiah-Adu, serves as the board chairman of one of the hotels, La Palm Royal Beach Hotel.
This raises questions about the advice this political appointee might offer regarding the controversial sale.
Ablakwa’s post on June 5, 2024, posed probing questions about Vice President Bawumia‘s stance on the deal, given the involvement of his close aide.
“Prof. Kwaku Appiah-Adu is not only a Senior Advisor to Ghana’s Vice President, Alhaji Bawumia, he is the current board chair of La Palm Royal Hotel.
“It would be interesting to know what his advice to the Vice President is as regards the infamous sale of SSNIT’s hotels to Minister of Agric, Bryan Acheampong,” Ablakwa’s post dated June 5, 2024, read in part.
Additionally, he questioned how Prof. Appiah-Adu responds to claims from some members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) that the current board and management of La Palm Royal Hotel are incompetent and inefficient, suggesting that the sale to Bryan Acheampong is justified due to his competence.
Furthermore, Ablakwa raised concerns about the quality of advice Prof. Appiah-Adu provides to the Vice President, particularly if the allegations against the current board and management of La Palm Royal Hotel are true.
“How does Prof. Appiah-Adu also respond to claims from NPP propagandists and Majority Group Leader Afenyo-Markin that the current board and management of La Palm Royal Hotel are incompetent, inefficient and lack ideas, so in their opinion the sale to the extraordinarily competent and visionary Bryan Acheampong is justified?
“If what these NPP propagandists and Majority Group Leader have said about the current board and management of La Palm Royal is true, what does that say about the quality of advice he’s giving the Vice President at the expense of suffering taxpayers who pay him for that kind of advice?” the post concluded.
Prof. Kwaku Appiah-Adu is not only a Senior Advisor to Ghana’s Vice President, Alhaji Bawumia, he is the current board chair of La Palm Royal Hotel.
— Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) June 5, 2024
It would be interesting to know what his advice to the Vice President is as regards the infamous sale of SSNIT’s hotels to… pic.twitter.com/EPLi932fF5
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has instructed the Labour Minister to engage with organized labor, who are demanding the suspension of the planned sale.