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General News of Wednesday, 23 May 2012

Source: The Herald

….No Swimming Pool For Blacks,

* No salaries and No SSNIT Contributions*

Inside the plush four-star hotel, Novotel in Accra, white skinned Europeans have found supremacy over the laws of Ghana by declaring a racists policy on blacks, banning them from using the swimming pool facility in the hotel.

Workers of the luxurious hotel talk about a dislike for the black skin, unfortunately considered to be inferior. There is a flagrant abuse of the rights of Ghanaian workers, disdain for Ghanaian patrons of the Hotel and naked disregard for the country’s laws.

Insiders told The Herald that Ghanaians can no longer go to the poolside of Novotel to swim, even at a high fee. According to the new management of Novotel, the swimming pool of the hotel is now a preserve for whites, who could even swim for free.

The European management is also reported to have scrapped the monthly salaries for the Ghanaian workers. They are instead paid a shocking 0.50 pesewas per a room cleaned per day. The 0.50 pesewas is meant for the backbreaking job of cleaning bedrooms, the wardrobes, the bathrooms and the toilets.

This new rule is the first of many draconian and slave-laden mentality racists’ changes ongoing at Novotel. To make matters worse, the legally-mandated SSNIT contributions are not being paid.

Confidential files intercepted by The Herald newspaper point to the fact that the management of Novotel Hotel, headed by the General Manager, Marc Frere, a Belgian-Portuguese and the Food and Beverages Manager, Yann Scotto, a French, are the ones behind these unpopular changes.

Mr. Scotto is reported to have used very degrading expressions such as “Fuck You” against some staff of the hotel. Ironically, the Ghanaian born Human Resource Manager appears to have lost her knowledge of the Ghanaian Labour and Employment Laws. Madam Violetta Kumi, is seen endorsing the illegalities going on at Novotel.

The latest breach of Ghanaian law is that Marc Frere has decided to pay wages instead of salaries for working in a hotel where both locals and expatriates pay $290.00 per night per room, $19.00 for breakfast and GH?40.00 for lunch. Another dangerous development inside the hotel is that, the kitchen has a problem which could lead to a case of food poisoning.

The Food and Beverages Manager has refused to correct certain storage facilities in the kitchen as well as the garbage room, resulting in a poignant foul smell in the backrooms. It was revealed that one cook is appointed, on daily basis, to clean the garbage room, and return to the kitchen to cook for unsuspecting clients, who enjoy such potentially poisoned meals.

This paper also learnt that anytime staffs are travelling from Ghana to Senegal, Cote D’ ivoire and Guinea for regional meeting and training, Yann Scotto will have to buy plane tickets from faraway Angola from his brother’s travel agency in that country.

His explanation to the Board of Directors is that travel and tour agents in Ghana charge $3.00 on a ticket and so he preferred dealing with the Angolan travel agency owned by his brother.

When contacted by The Herald, the Food and Beverages Manager he refused to comment on the developments, whilst Mr. Marc Frere claimed he will release an official statement on the matter coming Thursday.

Madam Kumi on her part, claimed she was in a meeting and thus could not speak to the media.

An expert in hotel management has meanwhile questioned “why didn’t the board query him on the bank transfer charges which are clearly higher than the 3 dollars he claims he is avoiding? I am sure the board members aren’t aware of the Banking Act and its abhorrence to such transfers, especially in a time like this.”

More to come!