Accra July 22, GNA - Four organizations made up of hotels, travel agencies and restaurants are to be prosecuted for defaulting to pay a SSNIT loan given to them through the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) in 1994. The organizations are Oyster Bay Hotel in Elmina, Marnico Guest House; Nasika Travel and Tour in Cape Coast and the Royal Botanical Gardens in Aburi.

Mr Martin Mireku, Executive Director at the Ghana Tourist Board, told the Ghana News Agency that in 1994 a group of hotels in Cape Coast applied for a loan to raise the standard of their hotels to attract more tourists because of the PANAFEST festival. He said a loan was granted to a total of 20 tour operators with the objective of upgrading their hotels to host tourists, who attended the PANAFEST at the time and the beneficiaries were given two years to pay back the loan.

Mr Mireku said as at the end of 2002, there were seven organizations that could not pay. He said the help of external solicitors were contracted to demand repayment but as at now the four organizations had still not paid hence the decision to prosecute them.