Stakeholders Objections Resulted In Termination Of Hotels Sale – SSNIT Boss

The Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Kofi Bosompem Osafo-Maafo has said the trust listened to the objections of stakeholders and decided to terminate the sale of 60 percent of its stake in four hotels.

Explaining why it was the Board Chairperson who signed the termination notice last Friday, Mr Bosompem Osafo-Maafo said that the process to sell 60 percent stake was initiated by the board and therefore if there was a decision to terminate it, it was right the board made that move and not the management.

He was speaking in a radio interview on Accra based Citi FM, monitored by Graphic Online on Monday morning [July 15, 2024].

Organised Labour had last Friday declared an indefinite nationwide strike starting from Monday, July 15 over the proposed sale of 60 percent shares in four hotels owned by SSNIT.

The strike was to be in force until SSNIT immediately “terminates the process to sell 60 per cent of its shares in Labadi Beach Hotel, La Palm Royal Beach Resort, Elmina Beach Resort and Ridge Royal Hotel”.

SSNIT last Friday announced that it has terminated the sale of 60 per cent of its stake in the four hotels.

SSNIT had explained that the process to invite private investment was started in 2010 and the current board started the process in earnest in 2017 followed by the tender process in 2018 for strategic investors.

In a statement announcing the termination on Friday night (July 12), SSNIT stated: “the Board and Management of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) wish to inform the public that the process to divest 60% of SSNIT’s stake in the hotels has been terminated.”

“We wish to assure pensioners, contributors and the public of our commitment to managing the affairs of the Trust prudently for the sustainability of the Pension Scheme,” the statement from SSNIT said.

Speaking in the radio interview with Citi FM on Monday morning Mr Kofi Bosompem Osafo-Maafo said: “the main reason that SSNIT terminated the process we listened to the objections from the stakeholders and we decided to terminate the process. If you recollect… we said will continue to engage all the stakeholders and we have been engaging them ever since this issue became public matter.”

“I think we’ve come to a point where the unions have been very vociferous and we’ve listened to that,” he said. 

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