SSNIT hotels sale: NPRA has asked us to proceed -Labour Minister

Employment and Labour Relations Minister, Ignatius Baffour Awuah, has disclosed that the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) has approved the sale of a 60 percent stake in the Social Security and National Insurance Trust’s (SSNIT) to Rock City Group.

The NPRA initially announced on June 28 that it had suspended the process pending further review.

However, speaking on the floor of parliament on Thursday, July 11, 2024, Mr. Awuah revealed that the NPRA has given SSNIT the go-ahead after further review.

“So, it wasn’t like a direct thing that SSNIT should not go ahead to do anything, but then, SSNIT can only go ahead when NPRA, which is the regulator within the field, has actually certified that they have seen all the documentation and the processes, and they think that we are good to go.” 

“As a minister, I can tell you on authority that NPRA has since indicated that they have seen the processes, and they think that SSNIT can go ahead,” he noted.

The Minister explained that SSNIT decided to sell shares for its hotel investment portfolio as a strategic move after unsuccessful restructuring attempts, adding that the sale presents “the most viable solution to prevent further depletion of the Trust’s resources.”

Organised labour has expressed its opposition to the sale since its exposure by North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

Additionally, last month, some Ghanaians and civil society groups embarked on a protest against the sale, which they described as a state capture.