“Unprofitable” SSNIT Hotel pays GH¢261, 000 acting allowance to CEO

The claim that Labadi Beach, La Palm Royal Beach Resort, Elmina Beach Hotel, Ridge Royal Hotel, Busua Beach Resort and the Trust Lodge Hotel owned by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) are not profitable and hence had to be disposed off, might not be exactly the case.

Groups and individuals, continue to register their displeasure over attempts to sell some hotels owned by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong and want it halted.

Documents have started emerging from the vaults of these state-owned hotels about certain outrageous payments to some managers.

One such group is the Coalition for Democratic Accountability and Inclusive Governance. It has indicated that it may be forced to explore legal avenues, if the transaction between SSNIT and Mr Acheampong for the sale of Labadi Beach, La Palm Royal Beach Resort, Elmina Beach Hotel, Ridge Royal Hotel, Busua Beach Resort and the Trust Lodge Hotel, is not halted.

But ahead of the legal action, a document from one of the hotels; La-Palm Royal Beach Hotel, available to The Herald, reveals how a whopping US$18,000, the equivalent of GH¢261,000 at today’s exchange rate, was paid to one Nana Domtie Onwona-Kwakye, its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as Acting Allowances- General Manager’s Position
The document signed by one Anthony Ghansah and dated March 25, 2024, directing the Financial Controller of the Hotel to pay, explained that Nana Domtie Onwona-Kwakye, was to be paid the US$18,000 at US$3000 per month for the six months she acted as General manager of La Palm Royal Beach Hotel “following the demise of the General Manager (Mr. Kwasi Kwanin), which occurred on November 8, 2022.

Interestingly, Nana Domtie Onwona-Kwakye, got the extra payment as an acting allowance, although she was Chief Executive Officer of La-Palm Royal Beach Hotel. This means that aside from her job as CEO, in the absence of the General Manager, she got paid for acting General Manager. The payment was ordered by the man eventually apointed to replace the dead man.

Juabenhene and Chairman of the Council of State, Daasebre Otuo Siriboe II, is said to be the father of Nana Domtie Onwona-Kwakye. It is not clear how the allowance was determined before payment was made.

Amazingly, the hotels, have been branded unprofitable, with SSNIT explaining its decision to sell a 60percent stake in four of its hotels to Rock City Hotel, owned by Bryan Acheampong, who is the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Abetifi Constituency.

It said the decision to partner with Rock City Hotel; an investor was initiated to raise capital for further investments in their hotels and to enhance their management.

In a statement issued on Sunday, May 19, SSNIT, explained that Rock City Hotel Limited, submitted the best and strongest technical and financial proposal among the bids received, meeting the criteria set out in the Request for Proposals (RFP).

According to SSNIT, the selection process was transparent and strictly adhered to the Public Procurement Act.

The group raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest in the transaction and demanded details on how the minister’s company, Rock City, won the bid to purchase SSNIT’s 60 per cent shares in four hotels.

In an interview with Citi News, a member of the Coalition, Edem Senanu, stated that they will explore all necessary avenues to ensure transparency and accountability in the transaction.

“There has been an illegality, so one has to review the process. So I don’t think that the horse has bolted. I think there is still an opportunity. SSNIT itself has said it recognises and acknowledges that CHRAJ is investigating, and I think that is the way to go. Our position is that fundamentally, the reasons we have been provided raise red flags, let alone the processes and methodology.

“What the money is going to be used for, how it is going to generate the objectives they set out to achieve. There is no clarity on any of these. I think that there is still time to make amends if we as a country want to do that.

“If we get to the point where we think that it is necessary to take court action, we will discuss that and look into it, but we haven’t been to court. If we have to, we will get to a point where we assess that the Coalition needs to do that. That is definitely an option that will be explored.”

Ernest Thompson, a former Director-General of SSNIT, has also raised concerns about the ongoing sale of four hotels to the Minister of Food and Agriculture arguing that the current sale process might not prioritise the long-term investment goals for which SSNIT is known.

This development follows a petition submitted by North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). The petition requests an investigation into the sale of a 60% stake in four SSNIT hotels to Dr. Acheampong.

Mr Ablakwa alleges a lack of due process and breaches in procurement procedures surrounding the sale. He has urged CHRAJ to halt the sale and conduct a thorough investigation.

Dr Acheampong has rejected these claims, calling them unfounded attempts to damage his reputation. He has expressed disappointment with Mr. Ablakwa’s actions.

But speaking on Joy FM the former Director-General stated that the process must be stopped.

“I think that at this stage, it might be necessary for the SSNIT board to just stop this transaction,” he stated.

Ernest Thompson explained that SSNIT operates as a long-term investor and not a bank, as such, the procedure currently being used in the sale of the shares in the hotels is not the best.

“Because the procedure they used is not the best. SSNIT is a pension fund and it is a long-term investor, it is not a bank holding deposit. So, SSNIT’s investments are analyzed in serious places. You just don’t treat SSNIT’s investments that way,” he explained.

Additionally, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has voiced strong disapproval over the sale of the four hotels to the Agriculture Minister.

Dr Kwabena Nyarko-Otoo, the TUC’s Director of Research and Policy, did not hold back during an interview on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, stating, “We will not sit idle for this to just pass. Besides all the technicalities, we think that it undermines governance.”

He further added, “There’s something wrong with governments. When politicians at the helm of affairs at SSNIT, appointed by the president, can only find another politician within the government set-up who has presented a so-called technically superior proposal, there’s something not right with it.”

The Trust emphasized that there was no favouritism involved in selecting Rock City Hotel Limited.

SSNIT explained that the decision to partner with an investor was initiated to raise capital for further investments in their hotels and to enhance their management.

However, Dr Nyarko-Otoo was emphatic that the TUC sees everything wrong with such a deal.

“There’s no way we will allow one part of the government to sell SSNIT assets to another part of the government or individuals in there. We assure workers that we will do everything in our power to make sure that this deal is stopped,” he stated.

“If you go back into the history of SSNIT, we have had too many attempts and sometimes successful ones by SSNIT to dispose of its assets to groups and individuals under a very controversial circumstance.

“We will also ensure that this thing does not happen in future and that means we need to strengthen our representation on this state institution, particularly SSNIT, to ensure we can arrest some of these issues on time so we don’t get to the point we currently are,” he added.

When asked whether TUC wants more members on the SSNIT board or for the institution to be strengthened, he said they want both.

He explained that “Beyond more members even if there’s a vote the people whose money is in there are not outnumbered by government appointees.

“We also want technically strong people who understand all these investment decisions, and at the very least can or halt the process even at the board level