The Minister for Food and Agriculture and Member of Parliament for Abetifi Constituency, Bryan Acheampong, has cautioned the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa against defaming his company.
According to Mr Acheampong, who's also the owner of Rock City Hotels Limited, the allegations peddled by Mr Ablakwa suggesting that he's committing any wrongdoing in Rock City's proposal to purchase 60% of shares in SSNIT's four hotels are false and baseless.
Speaking on JoyFM's Super Morning Show, the Abetifi MP expressed his disappointment in the stance taken by his colleague.
"You are just adding things together and trying to destroy me and trying to destroy Rock City. It is most unfair, it is 'un-Ghanaian' and you should stop it," he told Mr Ablakwa who was also on the Super Morning Show.
This comes days after the NDC MP petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to stop the sale of four hotels to RockCity, which has Mr Acheampong as one of the two directors.
Mr Ablakwa, in his petition alleged that documents he has intercepted show that negotiations to sell 60% of the shares of the six SSNIT hotels to the minister’s RockCity Hotel Limited “are far advanced.”
He is seeking investigation into various allegations, including conflict of interest, abuse of power, lack of due process, procurement breaches, cronyism, and graft.
The hotels under scrutiny in the petition include Labadi Beach Hotel, La Palm Royal Beach Resort, Elmina Beach Resort, Ridge Royal Hotel, Busua Beach Resort, and the Trust Lodge Hotel.
Speaking on the Joy SMS on Tuesday, May 21, Mr Ablakwa stressed that Ghanaians are being short-changed in the transaction.
He hinted at sending a new petition to the Speaker of Parliament since he believes the MP violated sections of the Constitution by failing to seek the Speaker's permission to engage in a profit-making venture.
However, Mr Bryan Acheampong has rubbished all the claims made by his colleague.
He explained that he's separate from Rock City as a corporate entity, and that as a non-executive director of the hotel, he does not need to seek a certificate of clearance from the Speaker as he has always been in business before becoming a public official.
"If you have issues with a corporate entity, ask questions. I will never stop you and nobody will stop you from asking questions but in the tangent that you [Okudzeto Ablakwa] are going, it has nothing to do with that.
"I am a politician and I can be okay with it… but note that you are not speaking the truth and CHRAJ will confirm all this to you," he told the outspoken MP.
Mr Ablakwa is however confident that he will be vindicated and the matters fairly settled after the investigations by CHRAJ.
The MP added that his suspicion is even more strengthened by the fact that Rock City Hotels in 2022 purchased 25 per cent of SSNIT shares in the plush Regency Hotel in Kumasi at a lower amount, a claim that Mr Bryan Acheampong disagreed with, insisting that Rock City got the shares for a good value that benefited his business and the state.
"Rock City tells me and SSNIT has also confirmed that they had several negotiation meetings. One of the minutes is what Mr. Okudzeto has. In the final negotiations that they reached an agreement, the agreement is what Rock City fulfilled and for an asset that for 30 years has not returned one cedi to SSNIT pensioners, it is of value to SSNIT that they check out of that transaction," he explained.
Credit: Felicia Osei