Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, has asserted that the op-ed by Elizabeth Ohene, Board Chair of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), about the sale of 60% shares in four SSNIT hotels to Rock City, does not reflect the entire board’s views.
Elizabeth Ohene defended the integrity of the process that selected Rock City Hotel as the preferred buyer for the SSNIT-owned hotels. In her article titled “Coming out of the Hotels,” she stated she would take responsibility and expects to be prosecuted if any corruption is discovered in the process involving Rock City, which is owned by Agriculture Minister Bryan Acheampong.
She claimed the process was transparent and followed all regulations, stating, “I am able to say with the utmost certainty that the process that led to the selection of Rock City as the Preferred Bidder was clean, above board and met every rule and regulation and can withstand every scrutiny.” She further emphasized that SSNIT did not need the president’s permission as it is not required by law.
Elizabeth Ohene also challenged Ablakwa’s accusations, saying, “Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa claims to have God and Ghana on the side of his campaign, and I would hope all of God’s Angels and Ghana’s investigative agencies, temporal and spiritual, would examine the process and tell the world if they find any irregularity or trace of corrupt practice. Indeed, if they should find any evidence of corruption, I will assume and accept responsibility and expect to be prosecuted.”
In an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Point Blank on Eyewitness News, Ablakwa clarified that Ohene’s op-ed was her personal opinion and not an official statement from the SSNIT board. He pointed out that several board members had publicly opposed the transaction.
“It is her personal opinion and personal observation and analysis on this matter. That is the first challenge I have on this piece. One would have thought that as the board chair breaking her silence on this matter she would be speaking officially and authoritatively on behalf of the organisation, carrying the views of all board members. She hasn’t done that in this case,” Ablakwa stated.
He recalled that on May 20, organized Labour held a press conference where they announced that their four representatives on the board opposed the transaction and had instructed SSNIT to halt it. “I thought that the honourable Elizabeth Ohene would address that. She doesn’t address this. So to the extent that you have other board members speaking on the platform of organized labour telling us that they don’t support this transaction…We cannot therefore take the honourable Elizabeth Ohene’s op-ed on this matter as representing the views of the entire board,” he said.
Ablakwa further criticized Ohene for sidestepping crucial issues in her article. “The honourable Elizabeth Ohene deliberately avoids all the fundamental issues, all the substantive matters. This issue has gathered the public opprobrium,” he concluded.
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