Bleak Future Awaits Pensioners....New SSNIT Deal At Golden Beach Hotels To Award Fraud

acting Director-General Of SSNIT, Mr. Ernest Thompson

Following keenly and closely shady deals at the Social Security And National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) in connection with attempts to recapitalize the Golden Beach Hotels, to make it more attractive and profitable, a new intriguing twist has emerged.

Top sources at the Golden Beach Hotels Ghana have revealed that SSNIT led by its acting Director-General, Mr. Ernest Thompson and other top officials are allegedly pushing for the award of new contracts to South African Management Group known as Legacy Hotel and Resorts, a company that is presently managing Labadi Beach Hotel on commission basis rather than investing that has led Labadi Beach Hotel to run at a loss and becoming more non-profitable each passing day.

Legacy South Africa has led SSNIT to incur huge financial losses from its stake in Labadi Beach Hotels and it appears some greedy and selfish people at SSNIT's top notch are still bent on doing business with Legacy.

'Though officials are aware that Legacy South Africa has fraudulently managed Labadi Beach Hotel, they don't care a dime to give the other contracts to the same company because they know what they get from the deal,' a source told ModernGhana

When sealed, Legacy South Africa would manage the other Hotels under Golden Beach Hotels Ghana namely, La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, Elmina Beach Resort and Busia Beach Resort at the same pace of what sources describe as 'Long term Fraud.'

Under this development, Legacy would end up siphoning more pension funds from SSNIT out of Ghana and the officials are not the least perturbed.

This furtive deal in motion is to further suit the selfish interests of those presently benefitting from the management style of Legacy.

Meanwhile ModernGhana wants to probe further that did the Minister not warn the new board members during their inauguration that the President is tasking them on SSNIT's investments especially in real estate? This was how many days ago? According to the Minister the President, bemoaned that "members of the scheme do not enjoy the benefits of the investments made by the Trust in this area" and that "Private Estate developers seemed to rule the sector."

He advised the new Board to take strategic direction in the area of the Trust's investments and ensure real returns for every cedi invested.

He also charged the Board to ensure that their tenure of office would be without reproach in every area and that they would be assessed by not only the stakeholders, but by the public and indeed SSNIT Management.

How many days ago was this warning issued and the new board are now constituting a committee to rubber stamp their wish in offering Legacy a Management contract rather than go for a better option of guaranteed income on the GBH investments

The Background

Reports suggest that the immediate past Board members of SSNIT led by Mr. Kwame Peprah proposed to seek partners and investors for the Golden Beach Hotels in 2011 for which two consultants were hired and contracted to look for potential investors and or management companies.

The board wanted investors to lend or inject money into the hotels at an interest and management company to manage the 3 hotels with an agreed fee.

The board then gave the two consultants the green light to publish Request For Expressions Of Interest (RFEI) for management and funding for refurbishments.

Information available to ModernGhana indicated that several companies responded in an attempt to manage the hotels on behalf of SSNIT. No company responded to invest any money knowing that the GBH board was being frivolous in managing the 4 hotels under them - La Palm Golden Beach Hotel, Elmina Resort, Busia and Labadi Beach.

However, a UK based management and investment company who appeared to be part of the 12 companies contacted by the Consultants advised the consultants in writing and expressed interests in leasing all the 3 hotels rather than manage as this would assist the SSNIT board for operating the hotels at a loss.

The UK company by name Dazee Hotels, London emerged as the best company to take over the 3 hotels. Rather than lend money to GBH Board, Dazee Hotels sought to lease the entire hotels as they are and further refurbish all the 3 hotels with their own funds and still continue to pay lease sum of over US$2m annually to SSNIT.

Lo and behold, as it stands now, it appears the immediate past SSNIT Board members for shady reasons best known to them, did not work cash on such a big opportunity as recommended by the Consultants but rather continued to manage the 3 hotels under an abysmal losses and have been trying in all ways to further extend the management agreement with Legacy a South African Management Group, that is currently managing Labadi Beach under a shoddy agreement that perpetually keeps Labadi operating at a loss.

This development has opened the flood gate for daylight fraud since Legacy Hotel And Resorts has succeeded in producing dubious expenditures in the maintenance of the hotels and SSNIT by paying for these costs are overwhelmingly being milked while pensioners are squealing for mercy.

What is more, SSNIT in an attempt to run for cover is now seeking to take loans to inject into the Golden Beach Hotels when a simple lease option where annual payments are made can rather go a long way to profit the authority.

A reliable source told ModernGhana that pensioners are likely to be hit by a major financial crisis as a result of this gambling by SSNIT which constitutes a clear case of total waste of pension funds.

ERNEST THOMPSON