General Secretary of the Ghana Federation of Labour, Abraham Koomson, has publicly challenged the government and the Board of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) regarding the controversial sale of six hotels belonging to the Trust to the Minister for Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong”s Rock City Hotels.
Mr Koomson suggested that instead of selling the hotels at what he termed “peanuts,” the government should employ Bryan Acheampong to manage the properties, ‘given his reputed business acumen.’
He was speaking on Joy FM’s Newsfile, on Saturday, June 22.
“If they believe he is such an astute businessman who could change the fortunes of the hotels, then they should employ him to manage these hotels,” Koomson stated.
The six SSNIT hotels that are being sold are Labadi Beach Hotel, La Palm Royal Beach Resort, Elmina Beach Resort, Ridge Royal Hotel, Busua Beach Resort, and Trust Lodge Hotel.
He argued that SSNIT has the necessary funding from workers’ contributions to manage its businesses, including these hotels effectively without necessarily selling off assets.
Mr. Koomson emphasized the importance and value of the facilities, pointed to their location and quizzed, “And they want to sell this?”
According to him, if this transaction had come to the attention of workers in 2018 when it started, the Federation of Labour would have mobilized its entire membership countrywide including those in the informal sector to protest.
He criticized the supposed rationale behind selling these six valuable hotels when SSNIT continues to receive steady funding from workers’ contributions.
“Every month, workers’ contributions come in. So I don’t see why they claim to have challenges with funding in managing these asserts,” Koomson added.
He called for stronger oversight and representation on the SSNIT board to protect workers’ interests adding, “We need to make sure that the national interest is defended. If I were on the board, I would not sit there for a second without defending what is right,” he stated.
The General Secretary stressed the importance of organization among workers to prevent such issues from recurring and argued labour is not organized as it should be.
He urged workers to sit down and address these issues collectively.