No issue with Bryan Acheampong winning hotel bids - NPP Swindon chapter chairman

Nana Osei Asibey Socatoa, chairman of the NPP UK's Swindon Chapter, has stated that there is nothing inappropriate with the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) selling the majority of its shares in four hotels to Rock City Hotels, owned by Minister for Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong.

He maintained that as long as the businessperson and politician met all the criteria for the bidding process, there was no cause for complaint.

SSNIT has announced it is divesting 60% of its shares in the four hotels to Bryan Acheampong's company, citing their submission of the best offer.

It was clarified that Rock City Hotels provided the most compelling technical and financial proposal among the six shortlisted companies that showed interest in the bid.

SSNIT aims to collaborate with a strategic investor to raise capital for investment in its hotels and to assist in their management.

This statement from SSNIT came in response to North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa's petition to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), urging an investigation into the sale of six hotels, including Labadi Beach Hotel and La Palm Royal Beach Resort, to the Abetifi MP, alleging potential conflict of interest and other irregularities.

However, Chairman Socatoa, speaking on Rainbow Radio 92.4 FM in the United Kingdom with host Daniel Dadson, defended the bidding process, describing it as transparent, credible, legal, and initiated in 2018.

He argued that since a bid was opened and Rock City Hotels qualified, the process should be respected.

"Bryan Acheampong is indeed a minister and a cabinet member, but there is nothing objectionable if he has won the bid for the SSNIT hotels' shares. As a Ghanaian businessman who has succeeded in various bids, we should not prolong this discussion unnecessarily.

"Nonetheless, I endorse the decision to petition CHRAJ on the matter. It is crucial for CHRAJ to conduct an investigation and ascertain if any wrongdoing occurred. Therefore, let's await the outcome of CHRAJ's investigation," he concluded.