Bryan Acheampong’s bid, which was US$20 million higher than the other bids, won the SSNIT hotel auction in Akomea.

Details of the offer made by Agriculture Minister Bryan Acheampong’s business, Rock City Limited, to acquire sizeable stakes in four hotels held by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) have been disclosed by Nana Akomea, Managing Director of the State Transport Company.

According to Akomea, Bryan Acheampong outbid the second bidder interested in purchasing hotel shares by $20 million.

He said that it makes financial sense to sell the four hotels’ shares during his panel discussion on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana.

Bryan Acheampong placed an offer that is at least $20 million higher than the second bidder in the bidding. I won’t name the company, but the second bidder is well-known for building estates. He revealed, “Their bid is $20 million less than Bryan Acheampong’s bid.

“There is a perception that Acheampong’s offer is a bit excessive, but that’s the reality, and the documentation supports it,” Akomea stated further. Although I’m confident that the appraisal has been satisfied, I had assumed that Organised Labour would assert that they would have a strong case if the bidders had not met the valuation.

In support of Acheampong’s bid, Akomea emphasized that the hotels need a large investment because they are in poor condition.

“These places have been running down,” he clarified. They are losing money, and the economic argument goes that the longer they are recorded on SSNIT’s books, the greater losses they will sustain. As we speak, they are unable to pay for energy, payroll, SSNIT contributions, or even GRA tax. Additionally, the pension funds are becoming hazy because these hotels are still listed on SSNIT’s books.

Nonetheless, SSNIT has defended its choice to sell Dr. Bryan Acheampong’s Rock City Hotel a 60% share in the hotels, citing the latter’s business’s superior offer.

The Trust states that in order to raise money for hotel management and investments, it hopes to collaborate with a strategic investor.

Following the sale’s announcement, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a member of parliament, petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to look into the transaction, specifically asking that Dr. Bryan Acheampong, a member of parliament and minister of state, be included in the investigation.

The properties in question are the Trust Lodge Hotel, Elmina Beach Resort, La Palm Royal Beach Resort, Labadi Beach Hotel, and Ridge Royal Hotel.

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and prominent figures in Organised Labour, however, have also voiced disapproval of SSNIT’s justification for the transaction.

View Nana Akomea’s 18-minute entry below.