It is very funny how some members of Dr. Bawumia’s camp are alleging that the decision by SSNIT to sell off 60% of its stake in four hotels to private investors under a public-private partnership with a strategic investor like Rock City Hotel automatically caused the 2024 defeat of the NPP.
However, the two reports which are very dear to the heart of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, that is, the Mike Oquaye Report and the Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu Report never fingered SSNIT-Rock City deal as the possible cause of NPP’s defeat in 2024.
Kennedy Agyapong, Bryan Acheampong, Yaw Osei Adutwum, and all members of NPP EXCEPT Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and his people have been accused of as the cause of NPP 2024 defeat.
However, according to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in April 2025, NPP lost the elections in 2024 because of:
- E-levy
- Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP)
- High Cost of living
- Prices of goods and services went up and left many Ghanaians struggling
- Arrogance of power (we were not willing to listen)
- Government’s inability to pay NABCO and others
- School feeding caterers and others were also not being paid
- Controversy surrounding the $ 58 million National Cathedral project
- Last-minute fuel price hike
Other major factors that caused the defeat of NPP in 2024 not mentioned by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia were:
- Cedi Depreciation, moving $1 to 4ghc to $1 to 17ghc.
- High Inflation
- High Interest rates
- Galamsey
- Disrespect towards certain Chiefs
- Break-down of the relationship between NPP and the media
- Sidelining of Party members leading to Apathy
- Suffering of the Private sector, and collapse of several private enterprises
- Failed 1 Village 1 Dam policy, 1 million dollars, one constituency policy, among others
- Lack of proper infrastructural development and Interchanges in the Ashanti Region as promised.
- Demographics challenges faced by the 2024 Presidential candidate.
The question now is; When did Public-Private Partnerships become an illegality under the laws of Ghana?
In its own wisdom, Ghana’s Parliament even enacted the Public-Private Partnership Act, 2020 (Act 1039) to regulate the entire PPP process, from project identification to implementation, as well as provisions for procurement, contracting and dispute resolution.
According to the Management of SSNIT before settling on Rock City Hotel, SSNIT:
- Went through International Competitive Tendering (ICT) processes as prescribed by the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663), as amended by Act 914 for the selection of a strategic investor.
- Commenced the process with the engagement of a Transaction Advisor through ICT method of procurement, with publication of advertisements in the Daily Graphic on 14th November, 2018, and in the Ghanaian Times on 15th November, 2018. The said advertisement was equally published in The Economist, a renowned and reputable international magazine in its 5-11, 2019 edition.
The legitimate questions any reasonable person would ask regarding SSNIT’s decision to sell 60% of its stake in four hotels are;
- Was Rock City Hotel the only company that applied for the contract? Absolutely NO.
A total of nine (9) companies responded to the advertisements by SSNIT and accordingly submitted proposals by the 23rd of March, 2022 deadline. Six (6) out of the nine (9) companies were shortlisted and issued with Request for Proposal (RFP) documents. The qualifying companies were invited for the opening of their financial proposals.
Based on the technical and financial evaluation by an independent committee, Rock City Hotel emerged the best.
- Was the contract finally awarded to Rock City Hotel to take over 60% of SSNIT’s Stake in the four(4) hotels (Labadi Beach Hotel, La Palm Royal Beach Resort, Ridge Royal Hotel, and Elmina Beach Resort) even after emerging with the best and strongest technical and financial proposals amongst those received by SSNIT? Absolutely NO.
The process of SSNIT getting a strategic partnership was not yet concluded before a petition was submitted to CHRAJ requesting for a full-scale investigation into the sale of SSNIT hotels. As a law-abiding corporate entity, Rock City Hotel expressed disinterest in the contract given the impending investigation by CHRAJ, and the politically sponsored attacks on its owner, Dr. Bryan Acheampong.
- Is Bryan Acheampong the first businessman who has had his company express an interest in a strategic partnership with Hotels publicly owned by State entity? Absolutely NO.
(a). In 2006, the government in partnership with Saudi Prince, Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Alsaud, a world acclaimed entrepreneur invested about $100 million into the renovations and construction works of the State-owned Ambassador Hotel, which was built as a gift to Ghana about 50 years ago (then in 2006) and now 68years ago in 2025 by the United Kingdom. The Ambassador Hotel has been taken over and managed by Movenpick Hotel, a hotel management chain.
Ghanaians saw nothing wrong with this arrangement probably because the Saudi Prince wasn’t a Black businessman or a Ghanaian Politician. The Saudi Prince expressed an interest in the Ambassador Hotel around 2003.
(b). In 2008, Ghana Libyan-Arab Holding Company Limited (GLAHCO) took over the ownership of state-owned Kumasi City Hotel and Accra City Hotel and further entered into a contractual agreement with the Golden Tulip Hospitality Group of the Netherlands to manage these two hotels under the brand name Golden Tulip Kumasi City Hotel and Golden Tulip Accra.
The financiers of the projects were Government of Ghana, Libyan Government Investment Company in Africa, and Ghana Commercial Bank.
Let’s also mention that, in 1979, Ace Hotels and Resorts Limited acquired the Kumasi City Hotel through the formation of a joint venture company to rehabilitate the hotel.
In 2022, the management of Golden Tulip Hotels, the Ghana Libyan-Arab Holding Company (GLAHCO) stated that, they have leased the Golden Tulip Accra and Golden Tulip Kumasi City Hotel to Achour Holdings, operators of Grand Lancaster chain of hotels for 12years.
Achour Holdings is a private Lebanese company located in Beirut. Imagine the level of political spinning if these two hotels were leased to Rock City Hotel for 12years?
Ghana Libyan-Arab Holding Company Limited(GLAHCO) is a joint-venture between the Libyan Arab African Investment Company(LAAICO) and the Government of Ghana with participating interest of 40% and 60% equities respectively.
(c). Rawlings’ government ushered in the Ghana Libyan-Arab Holding Company (GLAHCO) during the period of Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC). The Divestiture Implementation Committee(DIC) is widely considered by many as a body set up by the PNDC junta to oversee the process of their large scale corruption of sale of state lands, buildings, and properties to themselves and their cronies. Over 60 state-owned companies were placed on Divestiture and sold to cronies of NDC between 1989 and 1992.
GLAHCO and several private business persons benefitted from this divestiture exercise.
Certainly, the genuine intentions of Rock City Hotel owned by Dr. Bryan Acheampong to go through all the procurement processes to partner with SSNIT as a strategic investor to raise capital to invest in the SSNIT hotels as well as their management under Public-Private partnership can NEVER be considered as one of the major reasons why the NPP lost the 2024 elections.
….Signed…
Razak Kojo Opoku (PhD)
Founding President of UP Tradition Institute
