The leadership of organised labour has questioned the rationale behind the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) proposed sale of its stake in six hotels.
Labour unions have asked SSNIT to cancel all plans and processes to sell the hotels to the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong.
The unions made the call at a press briefing addressed by the Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr Yaw Baah.
He called on the minister responsible for pensions to direct the SSNIT Board of Trustees to cancel the process immediately.
He said the union representatives on the Board of Trustees of SSNIT informed the union’s leadership that they had collectively raised objections to the process.
“SSNIT’s interests in six hotels should not be packaged and sold as if all the hotels were in the same financial situation. The original proposal for the sale of SSNIT’s interests in six hotels has now been reduced to four. We hold the view that this renders the whole process null and void.
“The proposed payment terms varied from the original Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) based on the recommendation of the transaction advisor,” he said.
Dr Baah indicated that the union had a challenge that state assets would be sold to a Minister of State.
This follows an allegation levelled against SSNIT by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, that it was selling its stakes in six hotels to a company owned by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Bryan Acheampong.
In a press statement, SSNIT indicated that Rock City Hotel, owned by Mr Acheampong, had submitted the strongest technical and financial proposal among the other companies that expressed interest.
However, Dr Baah accused the trust of not conducting proper due diligence in its quest to sell its stakes to the Rock City Hotel.
“From all indications, it appears the process is going on, and in fact, they are even speeding it, and we do not think it is right. We do not think the regulations that guide the sale of state assets were followed. We do not think that the necessary due diligence was conducted. We cannot imagine that state property will be sold to a Minister of state,“ he said.
He advised the minister in charge of pensions to act proactively to avert the sale; otherwise, the union would be forced to act.
Meanwhile, the North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has indicated that he will petition the Speaker of Parliament over the SSNIT decision to sell 60% of its stake in hotels to Bryan Acheampong.
According to Mr Ablakwa, the Abetifi MP who doubles as Minister for Food and Agriculture violated sections of the constitution by failing to seek permission from the Speaker’s office in his attempt to purchase SSNIT’s shares in four hotels.
“I intend to bring this development to the attention of the Speaker, that a Member of Parliament and a Minister of State has violated Article 78 and Article 98 of the Constitution. Its authority has been undermined. And it is because of developments like this, where there will be a conflict of interest, the constitutional provision is very clear because, in that process, you must prove that the business transaction you are going to engage in will not lead to a conflict of interest”.