The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has issued a firm response to comments made by former Chief Justice Sophia Akufo regarding the alleged deliberate mismanagement and devaluation of SSNIT-owned hotels. These allegations were made during her appearance on TV3’s Ghana Tonight on 25 July 2024.
“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 ran down and always at the end of some cycle or the other they do sweetheart deals and do this distribution among themselves,” she said.
However, in a media release, SSNIT categorically denied the former Chief Justice’s claims, describing them as serious accusations without substantiated evidence. The Trust said that such allegations undermine the integrity and confidence in the Pension Scheme.
SSNIT strongly refuted the accusation that the hotels were deliberately ran down to devalue assets for personal gain, labeling the claim as unfortunate and baseless. The organization stressed that the allegations of mismanagement are false and harmful to stakeholder trust. SSNIT stressed that such unsubstantiated claims create unnecessary tension among stakeholders and detract from genuine dialogue on important issues.
To support its position, SSNIT detailed various measures taken over the years to enhance the performance of its hotel investments before deciding to sell part of its shares to a strategic investor. These measures included restructuring the ownership of the hotels, making significant management changes, and funding maintenance and capital expenditures to improve competitiveness. However, SSNIT acknowledged that hotel performance remains below the required level for growth and capital expenditure.
