Ablakwa Links Another Senior Presidential Appointee to SSNIT-Rock City Deal

North Tongu Member of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has released another installment in his ongoing exposés about the planned sale of four hotels in which the government holds a majority stake.

In recent weeks, Ablakwa has published documents suggesting that the sale of the majority shares of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to a company owned by Agriculture Minister Bryan Acheampong is against the state’s interest.

According to him, these documents show that the hotels in question were profitable, whereas the chosen buyer, Rock City Hotels Limited, was operating at a loss in the same year.

In his latest publication, Ablakwa highlighted that a senior aide in the office of the Vice President is the board chairman of one of the hotels, The La Palm Royal Beach Hotel. He questioned what advice this political appointee would provide as head of the board.

“Prof. Kwaku Appiah-Adu is not only a Senior Advisor to Ghana’s Vice President, Alhaji Bawumia; he is the current board chair of La Palm Royal Hotel. It would be interesting to know what his advice to the Vice President is regarding the infamous sale of SSNIT’s hotels to Minister of Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong,” Ablakwa’s post dated June 5, 2024, read in part.

Ablakwa further questioned the Vice President’s stance on the deal, given the involvement of his close aide. He also addressed claims from some NPP members and Majority Group Leader Afenyo-Markin that the current board and management of La Palm Royal Hotel are incompetent, thus justifying the sale to Bryan Acheampong.

“If what these NPP propagandists and Majority Group Leader have said about the current board and management of La Palm Royal is true, what does that say about the quality of advice he’s giving the Vice President at the expense of suffering taxpayers who pay him for that kind of advice?” Ablakwa questioned.

Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has instructed the Labour Minister to engage with organized labor groups who are demanding that the planned sale be halted.