SSNIT agreed to sell 4 hotels to Rock City at half its own valuation - Ablakwa cites memos

Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has published more documents to buttress his view that a planned sale of four state-owned hotels to a serving cabinet minister was a bad deal.

Ablakwa, in his recent comment on the issue, posted an internal memo between state-owned pensions outfit, SSNIT and Rock City Hotels Limited owned by agric minister Bryan Acheampong.

The document titled "SSNIT-ROCK CITY GROUP SALE OF STAKE IN SSNIT HOTELS NEGOTIATION" gave an agreed position of sale for each of the hotels in question - i.e. Labadi Beach Hotel, La Palm Royal, Ridge Royal and Elmina Beach Resort.

The overall sum of all four hotels per SSNIT's valuation came up to over US$121m while Rock City's offer stood as US$61.2m.

In a detailed write up on the deal posted on social media platforms (June 3), Ablakwa wrote in part:

"The SSNIT memos in my possession reveal that SSNIT’s objective expectations based on valuation reports of 60% stake in the 4 hotels (Labadi, La Palm, Ridge Royal & Elmina) ranges from a minimum value of US$80,406,630.00 to a maximum of US$121,315,643.00.

"From the intercepted memos, Hon. Bryan Acheampong’s Rock City offer fell far below the minimum value of the 4 hotels. Hon. Bryan Acheampong’s below par bid was US$61,200,000.00," he added.

He noted the significant losses that SSNIT stood to make if they pushed ahead with accepting the Rock City offer.

Ablakwa was the first to report on the planned sale of SSNIT's stake in the said hotels and has since adduced evidence to prove the deal was against the interest of the state and pensioners in particular.

He has also filed a petition at CHRAJ to probe possible conflict of interest over the minister's role in Rock City and his political position as minister and Member of Parliament.

Read Ablakwa's full post below:

Intercepted memos from SSNIT on Hon. Bryan Acheampong’s Rock City offer for the purchase of SSNIT’s hotels confirm that but for my timely intervention in exposing the deal, Ghanaian workers would have been terribly shortchanged as the transaction does not guarantee value for money.

The SSNIT memos in my possession reveal that SSNIT’s objective expectations based on valuation reports of 60% stake in the 4 hotels (Labadi, La Palm, Ridge Royal & Elmina) ranges from a minimum value of US$80,406,630.00 to a maximum of US$121,315,643.00.

From the intercepted memos, Hon. Bryan Acheampong’s Rock City offer fell far below the minimum value of the 4 hotels. Hon. Bryan Acheampong’s below par bid was US$61,200,000.00.

Considering that SSNIT’s own minimum value based on expert advice was pegged at US$80,406,630.00, the Hon. Bryan Acheampong/Rock City offer did not meet this minimum threshold by as much as US$19,206,630.00.

When compared to the upper limit, Hon. Bryan Acheampong’s offer fell short by a staggering US$60,115,643.00

It is instructive to discover that whereas SSNIT’s minimum offer for La Palm Royal Hotel is US$37,897,200.00, Hon. Bryan Acheampong merely offered US$21,000,000.00 (a significant variance of US$16,897,200.00).

In the case of Elmina Beach Resort, SSNIT was advised to go for a minimum of US$4,709,430.00, however, Hon. Bryan Acheampong offered a paltry US$2,400,000.00.

Analysts are fascinated by how the Hon. Bryan Acheampong/Rock City bids for Labadi Beach Hotel and Ridge Royal were exactly the same figures for SSNIT’s minimum expectations, raising suspicions about possible insider dealings and a rigged process.

These intercepted memos once again expose the deceptive and bogus claims by unpatriotic NPP propagandists and their surrogates that Hon. Bryan Acheampong offered a fair price and that his bid is the best for Ghana.

The clearest indication yet that these hotels were just being opaquely packaged for cheap on the blind side of Ghanaians to satisfy an obscene state capture agenda.

Our agitations must continue unabated, ahead of the June 18 demonstration, since President Akufo-Addo contemptuously refuses to instruct his marauding appointees to take their hands off our hotels.

We shall not be silent and lose these strategic national assets like the way we were taken by surprise with Mr. Kwaw Worsemao Blay now claiming to own the Labadi Hotel beachfront.

I shall be back with more.

SARA