Ignatius Baffour Awuah
The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour Awuah, has disclosed that the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) has approved the Social Security and National Insurance Trust’s (SSNIT) sale of 60% shares in six hotels.
The hotels include La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, Elmina Beach Resort, Busua Beach Resort, Ridge Royal Hotel, Trust Lodge, and Labadi Beach Hotel.
Negotiations were ongoing for the sale of a 60% stake in four of the hotels when the NPRA asked SSNIT to halt the transaction, asking that SSNIT provide details on the transaction for evaluation.
Answering questions on the floor of Parliament, Mr. Baffour Awuah stated that SSNIT had followed the NPRA’s orders, and that the regulator, after satisfying itself, had given SSNIT the permission to proceed with the transaction.
“Yes, it is true that NPRA came up with a directive, but I will appreciate it if my brother, my colleague, really read the directive from NPRA.
“It said it needed to be furnished with all information relating to the sale of the hotels, which SSNIT has since done. So it wasn’t like a direct something, they said that SSNIT should not go ahead to do anything, but then SSNIT can only go ahead when NPRA, which is the regulator within the field, had actually certified that they have seen all the documentation and the processes, and they think that they are good to go,” he asserted.
He added, “So, as a minister, I can tell you on authority that NPRA has since indicated that they have seen the processes and they think that SSNIT can go ahead.”
The minister said it was not wrong for SSNIT, which has its own board, to take investment decisions without recourse to the sector ministry, pointing out that the trustees of SSNIT were made aware of its investment decisions.
“Trustees are managing the assets on behalf of their beneficiaries. So the board members serve as trustees; the ones who take investment decisions on behalf of you,” Mr. Baffour Awuah noted.
He explained that SSNIT previously put in place several measures to turn around the business, pointing out, “These included the board members change management personnel involvement of international management companies.”
After experiencing low returns on investments, he said SSNIT could not afford to continue spending pensioners’ funds to pay out losses.
“The sale of a majority stake in the hotels forms part of SSNIT’s broader strategy to enhance the performance and sustainability of its investment,” he stated.
The minister noted that having a majority stake in a company does not guarantee returns on investment.
“For instance, SSNIT holds a minority stake in GOIL Company Limited, GCB Bank, Republic Bank, Ecobank Ghana and Standard Chartered Bank, Ghana,” he said, and continued that the returns on investment from this priceless minority stake have been positive.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House