The Ghana Federation of Labour says the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) is proceeding with talks to sell its stake in four hotels to Rock City Hotel owned by Minister of Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, despite a petition before the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).
The revelation comes hours after the Minority in Parliament, led by North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, and representatives of organized labour staged a protest to pile pressure on the government to block the transaction.
Speaking to JoyNews, Secretary General of the Ghana Federation of Labour, Abraham Koomson, said he is appalled by the posture taken by SSNIT on the issue.
"They have not stopped it. You know how things work in this country. For CHRAJ, how soon will they finish this. CHRAJ cannot injunct the process, I don't think they can do that. They don't have that authority to injunct the process so they will still go ahead and do what they want to do.
He added that the Federation will boycott a meeting at the request of the President next week as a sign of its displeasure.
"We are going to meet and discuss what? What we are saying is that stop the process. They should not continue, they should wait or stop it. That is all. We are going to meet him so he tells us what? I will not be part of it. I won't go there. I won't go.
"I don't know what I am going there to discuss. It is as simple as telling the Employment Minister that 'look, make sure this whole process is stopped'," he stressed.
In May, Mr Ablakwa blew the whistle on the deal and raised concerns about why SSNIT would sell 60% of its stake in the hotels to a minister of state.
Some government officials and Ghanaians have since come to the defence of Mr Acheampong that he could transform the financial fortunes of the four hotels.
However, the MP for North Tongu continues to question the rationale behind the sale, emphasising that there is no evidence to suggest that Mr Acheampong could improve the performance of the state-owned hotels, some of which are already profitable.
Mr Ablakwa further criticised Mr Acheampong for failing to utilise his purported expertise for national benefit while serving as a cabinet minister.
He accused the Food and Agriculture Minister of reserving his skills for his private ventures rather than contributing to the public good.
“… If you have such great ideas to transform hotels, Bryan Acheampong sits in Cabinet. Why do we send people to Cabinet? Under the constitution, Cabinet is a place where you brainstorm and bring your expertise and know-how to bear. So why will you only bring your expertise to bear when it is your private property, when you have bought it, when you have annexed it and it is within your private domain?
“Is that the only time you will bring that expertise to bear? Is that not unpatriotic? Is that not callousness?”he questioned.
He continued, “That is not being nationalistic. Why then are we paying you as a cabinet minister? It means we shouldn’t pay you, you shouldn’t be in Cabinet. This is the height of wickedness"he noted.
Credit: myjoyonline.com