SSNIT Hotels sale: Freddie Blay’s son never made $200m offer – SSNIT Boss
The Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Kofi Osafo Maafo, has refuted the claim made by Mr. Freddie Blay that the Trust rejected his son’s bid, valued between $150 million and $200 million, insisting the claim cannot be substantiated.
The former National Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) had alleged in an interview that his 34-year-old son wanted to buy shares of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) in some hotels advertised in 2022.
He claimed that his son, a big player in the tourism sector, submitted a bid of between $150 million and $200 million for about six SSNIT hotels, but his bid was not accepted.
“My son is about 33, 34 years old. He’s grown up and involved in business. I don’t answer questions for him. But that apart, my son, if you care to know, is not just involved in hotels; he is involved in the tourism industry.
“SSNIT offered to sell several hotels. He wanted a package, and my son’s company, Spartan Ives SSA, applied alongside about twelve or so companies. He offered to buy it for over $150 to $200 million with a syndicate of banks supporting him and a well-branded hotel chain,” he said.
But addressing the media in Accra on Monday, the SSNIT Director-General, Kofi Osafo Maafo, stated emphatically that no such offer was made by the Senior Presidential Advisor’s son.
“The claim that SSNIT received an offer of $150 to $200 million and turned it down is not accurate, with all due respect. Because the offer was never made, the offer was never even opened. It failed at the technical stage, and therefore this assertion that they offered us $150 to $200 million can’t be substantiated.”
The SSNIT Director-General added that Freddie Blay son’s company failed to make it past the technical proposal stage.
“Spartan Ives did not get past that stage; their technical proposal was weak. They scored below the required 50%, so their financial proposal was not even assessed. The envelope was not even opened; it was returned to them. That is what the law requires us to do, and we did so. All of these details are in the minutes, and if anyone wants to challenge them, we will be very happy to oblige.”
