….Says Rock City Hotel took part in acquisition bid without GRA tax clearance certificate
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has provided documents from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to substantiate his claims that Rock City Hotel is operating at a loss, hence not in a position to take on the management of the SSNIT hotels.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, revealed how the bid for SSNIT Hotels by the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, owner of Rock City Hotel, was fraught with irregularities, including the absence of a tax clearance certificate a key requirement in such matters.
This comes after the MP, vehemently opposed the decision by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to sell 60 per cent of its shares in four hotels to Rock City Hotel, alleging that the hotel was unprofitable and promised to provide evidence to support his assertion.
Okudzeto Ablakwa, questioned how the hotel got a tax clearance certificate to participate in the bid when it had not filed its taxes for two years.
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“So, it means that when they put in the bid, they clearly didn’t have a tax clearance certificate. So, you see here that after my exposé, they go to GRA on 23rd May 2024, and say we will post losses. We made losses for 2022. Then they went back again the same day and said, no, we are changing that fact.
“We believe that if you process the profits we made, we can pay a tax. A tax liability of 395,000 Ghana cedis, bizarre. And so, on that 23rd May, they are then asked by GRA to pay a penalty of 4,390 Ghana cedis.
According to the SSNIT statement that was put out on May 19, a copy of which I have here, if you look at the timelines, they said they started this process in 2018 and got the transaction advice in 2018.
He stressed, “Then they started the bid for the hotel purchase, the tender, for the sale of the hotels in 2022. So, you hadn’t filed your taxes for two years. How did they get a tax clearance certificate to participate in the bid? So, 2022, it was after my exposé that they hurriedly rushed to GRA, and they went there twice,” he pointed out.
“First, they say, we made losses in 2022. Then they went back and said, no, the way the trajectory, the way this MP is going, we made some profits. So, they amended the records, and they were fined. This is the penalty that they paid 4,390 [Ghana cedis]. Significant development after my petition to CHRAJ.
He claimed Rock City Hotel, only filed its taxes on April 20, after the first quarter that they would make losses that year.
“So, when I said that what you [Rock City Hotel] have told GRA about your operations last year – that you will make no profits and you are now going to buy a Labadi Beach Hotel making a profit of one hundred and fifty-eight million, it should have been the other way round.
“Labadi Beach Hotel is more profitable. I was speaking to the documents; I was speaking to the intercepted fillings at the GRA, fact.”
Bryan Acheampong, owner of Rock City Hotel, has refuted allegations that his hotel is operating at a loss and challenged Ablakwa to provide evidence to support his claims.
However, in an interview on Accra-based Metro TV, Ablakwa revealed that according to documents he obtained, Rock City Hotel, had reported to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) on March 12, 2021, that they expected to incur losses for that year, contradicting the Minister’s assertions
Additionally, Ablakwa alleged that Rock City Hotel, failed to file tax returns with the GRA for the entire year of 2022, further supporting his claims of the hotel’s financial struggles and questionable business practices.
“12th March 2021, they posted returns and said that year, they would be making losses, then two years later, they returned on the 9th of March 2023 and did a debit adjustment that they had two withholding taxes, which came up to GHC20,782. And that’s all you have for 2021. So, they told the GRA on the 12th of March that that year, they will make losses,” he stated.
He added, “As for 2022, there were no filings at all. If you notice, no filings at all. Then I break this news. I go to CHRAJ on the 17th of May. I broke the news here on this show. The following week, they rushed to the GRA. So, you see here, 23rd May 2024 that we [hotel] now want to come and make do our tax obligations for 2022, for two years ago.”
Nana Ohene Ntow, a campaign aide for the Movement for Change, who was speaking on the same subject on The Big Issue on Channel One TV, expressed shock over the government’s failure to stop the controversial sale of SSNIT hotels to Rock City Hotel.
The ace broadcaster, Nana Ohene Ntow, questioned the government’s reluctance to cancel the controversial sale of SSNIT hotels despite widespread public opposition.
He passionately argued against the sale of Labadi Beach Hotel, citing its consistent profitability over the years and making a strong case for its exclusion from the list of hotels slated for privatisation
The Campaign Aide of Movement for Change, said Lababi Beach Hotel is a performing asset, labelling its sale to a cabinet minister as “improper”.
“I think whatever the procedure may be, a state agency sold to a cabinet minister is improper. I’m not saying it’s illegal or unconstitutional, I’m saying it is not proper, and it doesn’t sit well… It doesn’t make sense that the hotels are all loss-making. The facts on the ground don’t support that position. At least not for Labadi Hotel.
“The information I have and when I checked is that in 2022, Labadi Hotel, declared a dividend of GHC25 million to the sole shareholder SSNIT.
He stressed, “TUC has waded into this matter because it involves workers’ monies and pensions. So how can the government divest itself of an investment that is financed by workers’ contributions into a public pension fund? And the government decides not to listen, I find that very strange. And I find a defence of that kind of transaction not acceptable to the people of Ghana.
“At least the Labadi Beach Hotel is a performing asset. And if it is a performing asset, then it’s completely improper for the government under any circumstance to try and divest it into a private hand… Here is a cabinet minister of state, with one leg in government, and one leg in business. That is already controversial.”
Nana Ohene Ntow, urged President Nana Akufo-Addo, to step in and intervene in the controversial sale of Labadi Beach Hotel, by heeding to public’s sentiments of protecting state assets.
“I think that public decency requires that if the government is dealing with public funds, pension funds, workers’ funds, and at least the TUC has spoken. I think the government must listen… I think the government must unpack the whole transaction properly.
“If the public is giving you such a reaction, I don’t think the government or SSNIT should insist…SSNIT should listen to the sentiments of workers and their representatives and citizens of this land.
“If nothing at all, I think the President should intervene in this matter. The government must take a closer look at this matter,” he opined.
On the same programme, Bernard Mornah, Convener of the Arise Ghana Movement, has questioned the sale of state-owned institutions to government cronies.
Mr Mornah argued that non-performing state agencies should be reformed and revitalised rather than sold off to private individuals.
He characterised the idea of selling off unprofitable state institutions as “myopic and midget thinking”, emphasising that revamping these agencies would be a more effective way to optimise their potential and benefit the nation.
Mr Mornah, said state assets are entrusted to appointed officials for proper management and maintenance, not for personal enrichment through indiscriminate sale.
He wondered why government appointees, tasked with growing state assets, would instead opt to sell them off for personal gain, effectively perpetuating a form of ‘state capture’ that benefits themselves at the expense of the nation.
“We select people so that they will be able to build upon the assets we have, to be able to add unto the wealth of our nation and not to come and steal the wealth of our nation. And so, when people are appointed into office, and they meet assets of the state, the least we expect of them is to maintain those assets and manage them. The more we expect of them is to actually increase the assets stock of our nation.
He added, “But when you elect people to office and all that they do is to deliberately appoint persons that will see or supervise the seeming collapse of state assets, to serve as fodder for the sale of these assets to themselves, then society has to rise.
“Over several years, we have sold and continue to sell, and what we’re left for in governance is what I call stream of expenditure, with very little to rack in as revenue…It’s myopic for anyone to come and say that a certain state institution is not making profits, the basis for which you should sell it. I don’t get it. This argument that some of the hotels are making losses, is the reason for which you have to sell them is midget thought or thinking.”
Bernard Mornah urged the government to take a bold stance and replace underperforming officials with competent individuals who can deliver results, emphasising the need for accountability and merit-based appointments to drive progress and efficiency in the public sector.
“There are state institutions, hitherto there were making losses and were almost non-functional, because of managerial inefficiencies. So, what you do is to yank off those who have underperformed and bring in people with the requisite qualifications and competence to manage them. If a state institution is not functioning, look for efficiency and you will transform.”
He cited state companies such as the Ghana Publishing Company, and Museums and Monuments Board which were non-functional but new leaders were appointed to make significant impacts.
