Organised labour has declared an indefinite nationwide strike starting Monday, July 15, 2024.
They say this is in protest of the proposed sale of 60 per cent shares in some hotels owned by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).
The NPRA initially suspended the sale of SSNIT’s stake to Agriculture Minister Dr Bryan Acheampong’s Rock City Hotel earlier but gave the green light for the deal to proceed on Thursday, July 11, 2024.
Following an emergency meeting by organised labour on Friday, July 12, the Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress, Dr. Yaw Baah, urged all workers to abstain from their work on Monday, July 15.
He said this will continue until the transaction is terminated.
“We find it extremely difficult to understand how and why NPRA will turn around to approve such a flawed deal …and so we would like to reiterate that the sale of SSNIT shares in the four hotels is not in the best interest of the country and we, therefore, demand that SSNIT terminates the deal immediately.
“From Monday, July 15, 2024, all workers in Ghana must not go to work until SSNIT publicly announces the termination of the processes to sell its shares in the hotels,” he demanded.
It will be recalled that North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to investigate allegations surrounding the sale of the six hotels owned by SSNIT to Bryan Acheampong.
In his petition, Mr Ablakwa said that documents in his possession indicated that SSNIT was on the verge of selling a majority 60% stake in six of its hotels to Rock City Hotel Limited, a company reportedly owned by Bryan Acheampong, the Minister for Food and Agriculture and MP for Abetifi.
The hotels under scrutiny in the petition include Labadi Beach Hotel, La Palm Royal Beach Resort, Elmina Beach Resort, Ridge Royal Hotel, Busua Beach Resort, and the Trust Lodge Hotel.
According to Mr Ablakwa, the deal lacked due process and violated procurement procedures.
He, therefore, asked CHRAJ to stop the hotel sale to the Abetifi MP.
However, SSNIT, in response, explained that based on its criteria set out for sale, Rock City Hotel Limited submitted the best and strongest technical and financial proposal among the bids received.
SSNIT further clarified that the bids were successful for only four hotels, not the entire six, as the North Tongu MP claimed.