Ablakwa details how Bryan Acheampong's Rock City Hotel bought 25% shares of SSNIT's Regency Hotel

The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has shared documents indicating that 25% of the shares of the Grand Regency Hotel in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, owned by the state-owned Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), were sold to Bryan Acheampong’s Rock City Hotel Limited.

This follows the MP's earlier claim that 60% of the stake in six SSNIT hotels, including Labadi Beach Hotel, La Palm Royal Beach Resort, Elmina Beach Resort, Ridge Royal Hotel, Busua Beach Resort, and Trust Lodge Hotel, are being sold to Bryan Acheampong, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, with the transaction at an advanced stage.

In his latest exposé, Ablakwa alleged that the 25% share of the Grand Regency Hotel, valued at GH¢8.6 million, was sold to Bryan Acheampong for GH¢7.4 million.

He also stated that SSNIT’s minutes on the negotiations he had intercepted showed that “Bryan Acheampong’s Rock City rejected SSNIT’s request to have the valuation priced in US Dollars, and they also rejected SSNIT’s suggestion to align their offer price with the prevailing Cedi-Dollar rate.

“Why has Bryan Acheampong been shockingly allowed to make his below-value payment in instalments, despite enjoying exceptional preferential treatment?” he questioned in a post shared on X on Saturday, May 18, 2024.

He further indicated that the minutes show that Kofi Osafo-Maafo, the son of the former Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo, chaired the negotiations on the sale of the shares of the Grand Regency Hotel.

He expressed concern over SSNIT's decision to sell the shares of the hotel at a reduced rate despite the hotel being profitable.

“It is extremely worrying that Mr. Kofi Osafo-Maafo, who chaired these soft, crony negotiations in which Ghana made huge losses, has been promoted to Director-General of SSNIT after his boss was disgracefully removed, and is now set to finish what he started with these six additional hotels.

“Whose great patriotic idea was it to quietly sell SSNIT’s 25% shares in a profitable Grand Regency Hotel in Kumasi with an occupancy rate of 90% to Hon. Bryan Acheampong?” he wrote.

View the MP’s post plus the documents below:

More revealing documents on the SSNIT-Bryan Acheampong Bromance.

These intercepted letters and minutes on how SSNIT sold its 25% shares in the Grand Regency Hotel, Kumasi to Hon. Bryan Acheampong in 2022 must serve as a cautionary tale on how the latest transaction involving 6 hotels would be finalized if we don’t stop the marauding cabal.

Interesting observations:

1) Even though SSNIT’s 25% shares in Grand Regency Hotel was valued at GH¢8.6 million, SSNIT was happy to sell to Bryan Acheampong at only GH¢7.4 million. This means that the State, and Ghanaian workers in particular, lost a massive GH¢1.2million in this deal;

2) From the minutes on the negotiations, Bryan Acheampong’s Rock City rejected SSNIT’s request to have the valuation priced in US Dollars, and they also rejected SSNIT’s suggestion to align their offer price with the prevailing Cedi-Dollar rate;

3) Why has Bryan Acheampong been shockingly allowed to make his below-value payment in installments, despite enjoying exceptional preferential treatment?

4) It is extremely worrying that Mr. Kofi Osafo-Maafo who chaired these soft, crony negotiations in which Ghana made huge losses has been promoted to Director-General of SSNIT, after his boss was disgracefully removed, and is now set to finish what he started with these 6 additional hotels.

5) Whose great patriotic idea was it to quietly sell SSNIT’s 25% shares in a profitable Grand Regency Hotel in Kumasi with an occupancy rate of 90% to Hon. Bryan Acheampong?

Ghanaian workers do not deserve this from their pension managers.

The dubious sale of the 6 hotels will be stopped — may CHRAJ not fail Ghanaians.

For God and Country.

Ghana First.

More revealing documents on the SSNIT-Bryan Acheampong Bromance.

These intercepted letters and minutes on how SSNIT sold its 25% shares in the Grand Regency Hotel, Kumasi to Hon. Bryan Acheampong in 2022 must serve as a cautionary tale on how the latest transaction involving 6… pic.twitter.com/4sDQlamHuG

— Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) May 18, 2024