We didn’t submit multiple applications for coronavirus stimulus package – Hotels Association

The Ghana Hotels Association has debunked claims that its members filed multiple applications for government’s COVID-19 stimulus package for businesses.

The Chief Executive Officer of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), Mrs. Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, alleged that some hoteliers were fraudulently submitting family names under the same business to access the fund.

This allegation was a response to a claim by the hoteliers association that only two percent of its members got access to the stimulus package.

But speaking to Citi Business News, President of the Ghana Hotels Association, Dr Edward Ackah-Nyamike, has however rejected claims that members have submitted fake names to access the fund.

“Now what we understood by that process is that, if a hotel applies for the loan, they will check the name of that hotel against the list that the association has provided to be sure that the applicant was a member of the association. So if they have put all this information aside and have decided to take a blanket look at the applications and not making reference to the list that we sent and you are now coming out to say the hotelier and indeed the association are presenting multiple entries and all those things I don’t get it.

Remember that it’s not every hotel that is a member of the Ghana Hotels Association. It is turning out that four months after the application started because they have not been able to disburse money to any of our members, they are going to use this as a reason or excuse to say they haven’t been able to disburse. That’s very unfortunate,” he told Citi News.

As part of efforts to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on businesses, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo launched a GH¢600 million soft loan scheme to be disbursed to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) hit hardest by the COVID-19.