SSNIT Hotels: We fully support protest against shady transaction

Minority Caucus in Parliament has thrown its support behind the organisers of the ‘Hands Off Our Hotels Demonstration.’

The protest is in opposition to the sale of 60 percent stake in six hotels owned by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to Agriculture Minister Bryan Acheampong.

A statement dated Monday, June 17 and signed by the Minority Chief Whip, Kwame Agbodza said the support is to kick against the “Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government’s shady sale of state-owned hotels to the Minister of Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong.”

The Minority described the transaction as a sweetheart deal and confirmation of “the wanton cronyism, official corruption and state capture which have become the hallmark of the NPP government.”

Convener of the demonstration and Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, in a media interaction on Monday, insisted “that President Akufo-Addo must immediately stop the sale of our SSNIT hotels. We want an immediate declaration from the president because since we started, all he has done is tell Organised Labour to go and meet the Employment Minister at which meeting, Organised Labour told us that they tried to convince them to allow the sale, so clearly, the president and his appointees don't want to stop the sale, and we are going to insist that they back out.”

The Minority Caucus in its statement, urged the public to honour the demonstration as a signal to the government that the wrong transaction which smacks of corruption will not be condoned.

“We, therefore, want to use this opportunity to indicate the Minority’s strong opposition to the sale of these hotels to the Minister of Agriculture, Hon Bryan Acheampong, and urge the public to join Tuesday’s “Hands Off Our Hotels Demonstration” to send a strong signal to the government that the people of Ghana take exception to this shady deal. Enough is enough!

“The attempt to sell off profitable state-owned hotels to Hon. Bryan Acheampong is wrong, unacceptable and must not be condoned.”

Below is the full solidarity statement.