Secretary General of the Ghana Federation of Labour, Abraham Koomson, has strongly criticized the proposal to sell a 60% stake in four hotels owned by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to Rock City Hotel, owned by Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Newsfile, Mr Koomson suggested that rather than selling these profitable state assets to Mr Acheampong, the government should consider appointing him to manage the hotels if he is found competent.
“Why do you sell national assets? Why should we sell such hotels in these prime areas? For what? For how much?” he quizzed in anger.
“If Bryan Acheampong has the capacity to run and operate the SSNIT hotels, why don’t we employ him? Instead of selling the hotels to him, he should be appointed as CEO to run the hotels for us,” he said on Saturday.
Mr Koomson emphasized SSNIT’s financial stability, highlighting that the institution consistently receives contributions and does not face capital shortages.
“SSNIT can’t complain about money because every month they need not go anywhere to go and look for a loan or whatever, the inflow from the contributions just comes in. If you are an employer and you default payment, you’d be in trouble. So SSNIT cannot complain of capital,” he argued.
The labor leader stressed the ownership of SSNIT by workers, noting that the government does not contribute to the fund. He called for amendments to the National Pensions Act to safeguard workers’ assets.
In an earlier interview with Joy News, Mr Abraham Koomson accused the Trade Union Congress (TUC) leadership of neglecting members’ interests and expressed reluctance to join them in meeting President Akufo-Addo to discuss this issue and other labor concerns.
“I will not join them to meet the President because I suspect them,” he told Evans Mensah on PM Express.
Despite SSNIT’s denial of any impropriety, TUC maintained that the sale must be halted for broader consultations.
In May, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP for North Tongu, exposed the deal and raised concerns about SSNIT selling 60% of its stake in the hotels to a government minister.
Despite a petition to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) urging the president to halt the sale, the Ghana Federation of Labour alleges that SSNIT continues negotiations to sell its stake in Labadi Beach Hotel, La Palm Beach Hotel, Royal Ridge Hotel, and Busua Beach Hotel to Bryan Acheampong’s Rock City Hotel.
Alongside his petition to CHRAJ for an investigation into the transaction, Mr. Ablakwa led a protest against the sale, gathering various stakeholders to petition the presidency to intervene and prevent the sale.