Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Agric Minister Bryan Acheampong
The Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has submitted a Right to Information (RTI) application demanding the Tax Clearance Certificate used by Bryan Acheampong's Rock City Hotel Limited in the deal to purchase shares of the four hotels of the state-owned Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).
The MP filed the RTI request on Monday, June 24, 2024, with SSNIT for the release of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Tax Clearance Certificate of Rock City, which shows that the hotel complied with its tax obligations and on when it applied to purchase shares of the hotel.
Ablakwa, in a post shared on X on Monday, pointed out that the details of Bryan Acheampong's hotel's tax filings he is privy to show that the hotel did not comply with its tax obligations and therefore could not get a Tax Clearance Certificate from the GRA, which is a requirement needed in the bidding process for government properties or contracts.
"Pursuant to Article 21(f) of the Constitution of Ghana, 1992, and the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989), I hereby request the following information: Evidence that Rock City Hotel Limited (with registration number CS075262016) bid for SSNIT's hotels complied with the Income Tax Act, 2015 (Act 896) and SSNIT's own pre-qualification criteria as advertised for Project Number: GR/SSNIT/CS/0001/2022, which mandated all bidders to present a valid Ghana Revenue Authority Tax Clearance Certificate.
"This request has become imperative considering that Rock City's record at GRA, which is now available to me, incontrovertibly confirms that Rock City did not file its annual tax returns in the fiscal years of 2021 and 2022. Indeed, Rock City's attempt to file their annual tax returns for the years in question was carried out belatedly in 2023 and 2024 respectively, long after SSNIT's advertised deadline of 23 March 2022," parts of the RTI request the MP shared read.
He added, "The unimpeachable records also show that Rock City was fined an amount of GHS 4,390.00 by GRA as a penalty for filing the 2022 tax returns two years late, that is, on 23 May 2024."
In addition to the Tax Clearance Certificate, the North Tongu legislator requested the tender evaluation report on the sale of SSNIT's 60% shares in Labadi Beach Hotel, La Palm Royal Beach Resort, Ridge Royal Hotel, Elmina Beach Resort, Busua Beach Resort, and Trust Lodge Hotel.
He also requested the minutes of the meeting held by the management of SSNIT on the sale of shares of the six hotels.
Read the MP's full post plus the RTI request below:
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