NDC has no moral right to protest sale of SSNIT hotels – Janet Nabla

Chairperson of the newly formed People’s National Party (PNP), Janet Asana Nabla, has criticized members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who took part in the ‘Hands Off Our Hotels’ demonstration.

According to Madam Nabla, the NDC under its regime also sold some assets of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), so, it lacks the moral right to denounce the controversial sale of some SSNIT hotels to Rock City Hotel.

She contends that it is only hypocritical for the NDC to assume innocence when they are guilty of the very act they are currently condemning.

“SSNIT properties, hotels were sold under the NDC regime, and I wanted to write on a placard – ‘Operation vote NPP and NDC out’. They were sold to their party sympathisers – it doesn’t matter. None of them who did [participated in] the demonstration had the moral right to be there,” she stressed.

The former General Secretary of the People’s National Convention (PNC) further stated that her party – the PNP – did not align with the NDC Minority MPs because how the protest was organised did not meet the PNP’s standard.

She said, “The PNP, we object to the sale of government properties into individuals’ hands. They did a demonstration; we [PNP] were not part of the demonstration because the way they captured it, we did not fit in.”

“Talking about people who are somewhat hypocritical, you who sold things, another person has also come – instead of you to allow the PNP to come out and chastise the two of you [NDC and NPP], you were there [at the demonstration] holding placards [with various inscriptions],” she said on TV3.

On June 18, protesters embarked on a demonstration on the streets of Accra to press home their demand for the halt in the sale of 60% stake in four hotels owned by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to Rock City Hotel, which is owned by the Food and Agriculture Minister, Bryan Acheampong.

The demonstration dubbed ‘Hands Off Our Hotels’ began at the Labadi Beach Hotel led by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

The North Tongu MP, together with organised labour and other stakeholders, questioned the process that led to the selection of Rock City as the viable entity to purchase the said hotels and demanded that the sale be halted immediately among others.