Rock City Hotel has withdrawn its bid to purchase the 60 percent shares of some four Hotels owned by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).
The hotels include La Palm Beach Hotel, Labadi Beach Hotel, Royal Ridge Hotel and Elimina Beach Hotel.
This latest development comes on the back of an announcement by Organized Labour Unions to embark on a nationwide strike on Monday, July 15, should SSNIT move forward with the sale to Rock City Hotel, which is owned by Agriculture Minister Bryan Acheampong.
Earlier this week, the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour Awuah revealed to Parliament that the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) had cleared SSNIT to proceed with the planned sale of 60% stake in the hotels despite organized labour resistance.
The revelation triggered the already disgruntled labour unions forcing them to declare a strike, starting Monday, 15th July.
However, Rock City Hotel, the awardee of the bid, has indicated their withdrawal from all processes of acquiring the 60% stake in the hotels.
In a letter addressed to SSNIT’s Director-General, Mr. Kofi Osafo-Maafo, Rock City Hotel expressed their disappointment over the lack of extensive stakeholder engagement, which they believe has fueled the negative perception of their bid. This has therefore necessitated the decision for them to discontinue their pursuit of this investment opportunity in the hotels.
“Flowing from all the commentary monitored and the undue negativity that has attended this commentary, we feel you have not done enough to engage all your stakeholders, leading to perceptions that we don’t want associated with our brand. We believe that such negativity is not only injurious to our brand but also jeopardises the success of the investment we intend to make in these hotels”.
“Therefore, we are writing to inform you of our decision to withdraw our bid and discontinue our pursuit of this investment opportunity,” it added.
Read below the full statement:
