The Social Security National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has issued a response to the claims against it by former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo regarding the botched Rock City Hotel deal.

A statement issued on Monday, July 29, 2024, captures SSNIT responding to allegations by Sophia Akuffo that the botched Rock City Hotel deal is yet another illustration of how managers of public institutions deliberately run down the assets of the institutions and then sell them among themselves.

SSNIT, in the statement, stated that the claims by Sophia Akuffo are without basis and lack merit as they adhered to the laws of the country.

“That the former Chief Justice’s claim that SSNIT hotels were run down deliberately in order to devalue the assets and distribute them among themselves is a serious accusation and rather unfortunate.

“We wish to emphasize that the allegations of deliberate mismanagement of SSNIT hotels are false and undermine confidence in the pension scheme.

“Allegations of this nature, without substantiated evidence, create unnecessary tension among stakeholders and potentially detract the public from the constructive dialogue needed to address genuine issues.

“Contrary to the allegations, SSNIT undertook a transparent and competitive process, in line with all procurement laws, to select an Independent Transaction Advisor to guide the process.

“An International Competitive Tender process was used to select the Strategic Investor. Both processes sought to maximize the value that could be obtained from the sale of our majority stakes in each of the hotels. The allegations, therefore, are false and misleading,” the statement contained in some parts, adding that it is looking “forward to engaging its stakeholders to advance the course of the Pension Scheme.”

It continued that: “We wish to assure pensioners, contributors, and the public of our commitment to managing the assets of the Trust in a manner that will ensure the long-term sustainability of the Scheme.”

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What Sophia Akuffo said

Sophia Akuffo stated that the issue of the botched sale of shares of SSNIT in some hotels is symptomatic of a broader issue in the country where persons charged with managing state institutions and assets deliberately run down those assets and sell them among themselves.

According to her, the age-long practice is inimical to the interest of the country, and the situation of SSNIT is no different.

Speaking in a TV3 interview, Sophia Akuffo said that she was not shocked by the justifications by SSNIT, as that has been a practice in the public sector for ages.

“Of course, SSNIT will justify it because they have run down the hotels, and just like in the public sector, a lot of public properties have been run down just so that the value will be run down, and always at the end of some cycle or the other, they do sweetheart deals and do this distribution among themselves. SSNIT can say I have defamed them, but I don’t care.”

Sophia Akuffo justified why the deal to sell the shares to Rock City Hotel, which is owned by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, reeked of conflict of interest and why it was not in the best interest of the country.

“Yes, of course, because conflict of interest is conflict of interest. You can’t be the judge and the jury, you can’t be the lawyer and the judge, you can’t be the litigant, and after you have given your evidence and everything, your lawyer has done his submission, and it is time to determine the outcome, and now you are going to sit among the jury and you want to be part of that.”

“Conflict of interest is not defined by the individual. Sometimes a conflict of interest, when you are managing standards, it is part of the performance standards. When you are managing ethical standards, sometimes it is simply perception.

“Will a reasonable man in the street, if you were to tell them of this, what will they say about it? If here, you can surmise that they will say it smells, then it smells. When you are a public person, just because there is no law that says you cannot do it does not mean you should do it. Even in the Bible, it says I can do all things, but not all things are good.”

It will be recalled that on Friday, July 12, SSNIT, through its board of directors, announced that it had scrapped the decision to sell its shares in the Labadi Beach, La Palm, Ridge Royal, and Elmina Beach hotels in the Greater Accra and Central regions.

“The Board and management of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) wish to inform the public that the process to divest 60% of SSNIT’s stake in the hotels has been terminated,” Board Chair of SSNIT Elizabeth Akua Ohene said in the statement.

EK