The Ghana Federation of Labour has blamed the failure of the hotels that the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has opted to sell on weak managerial skills.
The Federation claims that SSNIT’s grounds for selling 60% ownership in four of its hotels are unconvincing and should not be taken seriously.
Secretary General of the Federation, Albert Amoah, says the issues affecting the hotels are purely managerial, and the solution is for SSNIT to sack all the current managers and employ competent people to manage the hotels.
Speaking in an interview on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, Mr. Koomson asserted the hotels lack competent and credible managers to put in efforts toto maximise profits.
SSNIT, he argued, cannot complain about a lack of money to invest in its hotels, and if the hotels are not profitable or providing dividends, it should fire the current managers and hire new ones.
“What we are saying is that SSNIT should not sell the hotels. There are private hotels in this country that are doing well. What is the problem with SSNIT? Is it about money? SSNIT cannot complain about money because they receive the monthly contributions from contributors. There is not a single month that they have not received these contributions. We see the problem as managerial. They lack competent people to manage these hotels. Alisa Hotel is expanding and making profits. When you visit the hotel, you will be excited. So you don’t know why the SSNIT hotels are not making profits. SSNIT has not complained about money. What they have communicated to Ghanaians is that the hotels are not profitable and are and are not paying dividends. It means that the managers in these hotels are performing poorly.
If that is the case, then they should sack all the managers and advertise so that people who have the competencies will be employed to manage the hotels. After you advertise and employ the new managers, you give them targets and put them on probation for sx months, and if they underperform, you sack them and employ new people. That’s how you do it. But you don’t just come out and tell us you are selling the hotels because they are not paying dividends or making profits, which is neither here nor there. You need to employ competent people. If private hotels are doing well and the SSNIT hotels are not making profits, then it is strange. I don’t know why they still want to sell the hotels. What we have realised or suspected is that they want to sell the hotels to their cronies, so they will take over the hotels.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
