Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has served notice to the police on an impending demonstration against the government amidst talks to sell off stakes of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) hotels to Rock City Hotel Limited.
The lawmaker in a letter to the Greater Accra Regional Police Command explained that the protest was born out government’s persistence in pursuing the sale of SSNIT’s 60% stake in four of its hotels in the face of public opposition.
“Regrettably, despite the national outrage, unambiguous demands from Organised Labour and Civil Society Organizations that the sale be stopped, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has refused to listen to the overwhelming majority of Ghanaians who have loudly condemned this sale,” the MP wrote in part.
According to Mr. Ablakwa, the planned demonstration will begin at the Labadi Beach Hotel through to La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, and eventually end at the Jubilee House.
Both aforementioned hotels are involved in SSNIT’s agreement to divest 60% of each of the establishments’ stakes to Rock City Hotel Limited, a business owned by the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Bryan Acheampong.
Since 2018, the management of the Trust has been in talks with Mr. Acheampong’s business to sell off some stakes in its hotels as part of efforts to improve profitability and boost shareholder value.
Mr. Ablakwa stated that the date for the demonstration was slated for Tuesday, 18th June 2024, adding that the exercise was among several measures he was going to take in his quest to nip the deal in the bud.
Meanwhile, the North Tongu lawmaker has filed a complaint at the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) urging the constitutional body to look into issues of impropriety in relation to the deal.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Mitchell Asare Amoamah
