Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has responded to comments made by former National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Freddie Blay, about the bidding process for the sale of majority government shares in hotels owned by the state pensions body, SSNIT.
In an interview with Accra-based media house, Blay revealed that his son, in collaboration with a consortium of banks, had placed a bid ranging from US$150 to US$200 million for SSNIT’s shares in a group of hotels.
Blay and his son have consistently denied allegations made by Ablakwa, accusing them of state capture in the acquisition of a portion of the Labadi Beach Hotel beachfront.
Ablakwa, in his response to Blay’s remarks regarding the bid amount, highlighted public records indicating that the eventual successful bidder, Rock City Hotels Limited, had valued SSNIT’s properties at US$61 million.
Rock City Hotels is owned by Bryan Acheampong, the Member of Parliament for Abetifi and the Minister of Agriculture.
Ablakwa’s post on social media (June 25) read as follows: “Unending murkiness. We were told Bryan Acheampong offered the highest bid of US$61million; now former NPP Chairman, Freddie Blay also says his 34 year old son offered “150 to 200 million” for the SSNIT hotels.
“Another clear justification for my RTI Request for the tender evaluation report and minutes of tender committee meetings. State Capture shall surely be defeated!”
Last week, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa spearheaded a protest called the #HandOffOurHotelsDemo in Accra.
The demonstrators marched from the Labadi and La Palm Beach hotels, and Ablakwa delivered a 15-point petition to the president, urging the cancellation of the planned sale of these hotels.
The presidency has not yet issued a formal response to the petition.
Additionally, Ablakwa has filed a complaint with CHRAJ against the minister, citing a conflict of interest.