The Director General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Kofi Osafo Maafo, has refuted allegations made by Freddie Blay, the former national chairman of the NPP, that his organization rejected a bid from Blay's son.

Mr. Osafo Maafo clarified that the bid, reportedly valued between $150 million and $200 million, submitted by Freddie Blay's son and allegedly rejected by SSNIT, is unfounded.

Freddie Blay, in an interview on TV3 on June 24, 2024, disclosed that his son had bid $200 million when SSNIT offered to sell its hotels but had the bid rejected.

However, Mr. Osafo Maafo revealed that the proposal from Spartan Ives, a company owned by the former NPP chairman's son, did not advance past the first stage of the bidding process.

He made this announcement during a press conference to provide an update to the media on the operations of the State Pension Trust.

"The claim made by Mr. Freddie Blay that his son's company, Spartan Ives, bid $150 to $200 million and was turned down by SSNIT cannot be substantiated," he clarified.

“For the process, you first go through an evaluation panel and score. Once scored and you get past the pass mark we then assess your financial proposal. That is the process and that is what the law requires us to do.

“We did exactly that. Spartan Ives did not get past the evaluation stage. Their technical proposal was weak and they scored below the required 50% so their financial proposal was not even assessed. The envelope was not even opened. It was returned to them. That is what the law requires us to do.

“So to say that SSNIT received an offer of 150 to 200 million dollars and turned it down is not accurate because the offer was never made, the offer was never opened,” he stressed.

SSNIT faced public scrutiny over the sale of a 60% stake in several hotels to Agriculture Minister Bryan Acheampong.

A protest called 'Hands off our hotels' was held on June 19 to demand a halt to the sale.

MAG/OGB