President Akufo-Addo thinks the controversy that erupted out of the intention to sell off the 60% share of SSNIT’s share in some four hotels was unnecessary.
The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) planned on selling to Rock City Hotels, owned by Minister of Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, 60% of the shares it has in some four hotels it said were not yielding returns.
Speaking at the 12th quadrennial delegates conference of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in Accra Tuesday, August 20, 2024, the President advised Ghanaians to be guided in their pronouncements regarding SSNIT’s assets.
He stated that the Trust was working assiduously to ensure that they made profits while the trust expanded its frontiers.
“The improved performance of SSNIT which recently in all successes [led to] GHC230m on its operations. This should be reassuring to organised labour and perhaps bring into sharper relief the unnecessary controversy that was recently generated by SSNIT’s efforts to offload non-performing assets in its hotel portfolio.
“It is my understanding that the transaction that was aborted represented the only occasion in the recent history of SSNIT that external investors sought to invest in SSNIT holdings.
“All of us need to be measured when it comes to making decisions and pronouncements that would affect the long-term interests of pensioners,” he stated.
The attempt by SSNIT to sell off its hotels sparked controversy and series of backlash from the public after the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, brought the sale to limelight.
Organised labour protested the sale, saying it amounted to conflict of interest, leading to an indefinite strike from workers which led to a withdrawal of the bid by Rock City.
SSNIT also withdrew the sale following the announcement of the strike by Organised Labour.
