Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the member of parliament for North Tongu, is scheduled to spearhead a massive demonstration against the sale of four Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) hotels to Rock City Hotel Limited, which is owned by Bryan Acheampong, Ghana’s minister of agriculture.
The goal of the demonstration on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, is to persuade the president to stop these hotels from being sold.
On Monday, June 17, at a press conference held at the press centre, Mr. Ablakwa declared that all preparations for the demonstration were ready.
Reiterating his hope for a nonviolent protest, he gave his word that the Ghana Police Service will deal with anybody who tried to cause trouble.
Mr. Ablakwa added that he expected representatives of the presidency to address the protestors and accept their plea for submission to the president.
The former Deputy Minister of Education emphasized the urgency and significance of their case while restating the need for the demonstration to prevent the transaction from going forward.
“We have agreed with the police on the condition that the representatives of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will walk from the Jubilee House and meet us at the Christ the King Catholic Church to receive our petition.”
“We are very peaceful protestors and law-abiding as well. So we can give the Ghanaian people the full assurances that this agreement with the Ghana Police Service will be adhered to,” he said.
“We have agreed with the police on the condition that the representatives of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will walk from the Jubilee House and meet us at the Christ the King Catholic Church to receive our petition.”
“We are very peaceful protestors and law-abiding as well. So we can give the Ghanaian people the full assurances that this agreement with the Ghana Police Service will be adhered to,” he said.
The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), upon Mr. Ablakwa’s request, has already opened an investigation into the transaction.
He claimed, nonetheless, that he is forced to take this extra step because, in spite of popular opposition, information he has received suggests that the deal’s finalisation process is still in progress.
Speaking of CHRAJ’s reputation for conducting exhaustive investigations, Mr. Ablakwa voiced his concern that the transaction would close before the Commission wraps up its probe.
Consequently, he feels that further pressure should be applied to SSNIT in order to stop the transaction.