The Minority in Parliament is calling for the immediate resignation of the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations and managers of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA).
The caucus argues that for failing to protect the Ghanaian worker in the now botched attempt by SSNIT to sell 60 per cent equity in its six hotels to Agriculture Minister’s Rock City Hotel, their stay in office had become untenable.
“The continuous stay in office of the members of the board of SSNIT, National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) and the Minister of Employment is no longer tenable.
They must all resign for serving as accomplices in the state capture and for failing to protect the interest of Ghanaian workers,” a statement signed by the Minority Leader, Dr B. Cassiel Ato Forson, on Friday stated.
The statement comes a day after the Employment Minister, Ignatius Baffuor Awuah, told Parliament that the NPRA has okayed the sale of SSNIT shares in the hotels.
“As minister, I can tell you on authority that NPRA (after vetting the documentation and the processes) has since indicated that they had seen the processes and they think that SSNIT can go ahead (with the sale),” he told the plenary last Friday.
Barely 24 hours after briefing Parliament, Organised Labour, led by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), declared a nationwide strike in protest of the approval of the deal by the NPRA.
“From Monday 15 of July 2024, all workers in Ghana must not go to work until SSNIT publicly announces the termination of the process for the sale of its shares in the hotels,” Dr Yaw Baah, the Secretary-General of the TUC, told a news conference in Accra on Friday.
Rock City, subsequently, withdrew from the transaction citing public outcry.
“Flowing from all the commentary monitored and the undue negativity that has attended this commentary, we feel you (SSNIT) have not done enough to engage all your stakeholders, leading to perceptions that we don’t want to be 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.”
In a statement in response to the withdrawal of Rock City, the Minority said that was not enough and the arrangement must be called off.
“The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority in Parliament, Organised Labour, civil society and the people of Ghana have spoken loud and clear that we are opposed to the questionable arrangement by the Akufo-Addo/ Bawumia government to sell the SSNIT hotels to Minister of Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, or anyone in a suspicious deal.
“The government must listen to the voice of Organised Labour, other interest groups and those who stiffly opposed this shady transaction to protect the interest of the Ghanaian worker,” the statement demanded.
The SSNIT has since terminated the transaction with a commitment to “manage the affairs of the Trust prudently for the sustainability of the pension scheme”.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI