You’re adding things up to destroy Rock City; it’s not fair – Bryan Acheampong to Ablakwa

Bryan Acheampong, the Minister for Food and Agriculture and MP for Abetifi Constituency, has urged the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, to desist from attempts to destroy his company, Rock City Hotels Limited.

Mr. Acheampong, the owner of Rock City Hotels Limited, stated that the allegations made by Mr. Ablakwa, which suggest wrongdoing in Rock City’s proposal to purchase 60% of shares in SSNIT’s four hotels, are false and baseless.

He therefore registered his displeasure directly to Mr Ablakwa on Accra-based Joy FM on Tuesday, during a joint interview.

“You are just adding things together and trying to destroy me and trying to destroy Rock City. It is most unfair, it is ‘un-Ghanaian’ and you should stop it,” he told Mr Ablakwa.

The confrontation follows Mr Ablakwa’s petition to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to investigate and stop the sale of SSNIT’s 60 percent stake in the hotels belonging to the Trust.

The hotels under scrutiny in the petition include Labadi Beach Hotel, La Palm Royal Beach Resort, Elmina Beach Resort, Ridge Royal Hotel, Busua Beach Resort, and the Trust Lodge Hotel.

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But Mr Acheampong has rubbished all the claims made by his colleague.

He clarified that he is distinct from Rock City as a corporate entity. As a non-executive director of the hotel, he is not required to seek a certificate of clearance from the Speaker since he has been involved in business long before becoming a public official.

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“If you have issues with a corporate entity, ask questions. I will never stop you and nobody will stop you from asking questions but in the tangent that you [Okudzeto Ablakwa] are going, it has nothing to do with that.

“I am a politician and I can be okay with it… but note that you are not speaking the truth and CHRAJ will confirm all this to you,” he told the outspoken MP.

Ablakwa to petition Parliament

Meanwhile, the North Tongu lawmaker expressed confidence in CHRAJ to fairly investigate the matters he has raised, stressing that he would be vindicated after the investigations.

He hinted at sending a new petition to the Speaker of Parliament since he believes the MP violated sections of the Constitution by failing to seek the Speaker’s permission to engage in a profit-making venture.

Mr Ablakwa further indicated that his suspicion is even more strengthened by the fact that Rock City Hotels in 2022 purchased 25 percent of SSNIT shares in the plush Regency Hotel in Kumasi at a lower amount.

However, Mr Bryan Acheampong disagreed, insisting that Rock City got the shares for a good value that benefited his business and the state.

“Rock City tells me and SSNIT has also confirmed that they had several negotiation meetings. One of the minutes is what Mr. Okudzeto has.

“In the final negotiations that they reached an agreement, the agreement is what Rock City fulfilled and for an asset that for 30 years has not returned one cedi to SSNIT pensioners, it is of value to SSNIT that they check out of that transaction,” he explained.