Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Kwasi Afreh Biney, says the Trust is considering alternative management models.

This, he said, includes leasing out some loss-making hotel assets, as part of efforts to revive struggling investments without selling them.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition recently, Mr Afreh Biney insisted that SSNIT has no intention of disposing of any of its hotel investments despite ongoing discussions about restructuring parts of its hospitality portfolio.

“Let me assure the people of Ghana that we will not sell any of our hotel investments,” he said.

He drew a sharp distinction between well-performing assets and those facing operational challenges.

According to him, Labadi Beach Hotel remains one of SSNIT’s strongest investments and continues to generate substantial returns for pension contributors.

“Labadi Beach Hotel is one of our best investments. In fact, they have consistently paid dividends year in and year out. Last year alone, based on 2024 numbers, they paid us ¢17.8 million in dividends for the year 2024, but they paid it last year,” he disclosed.

He added that the hotel’s performance is expected to improve further.

“Last year they made a PBT in excess of ¢67 million with a profit after tax of in excess of ¢50 million, so clearly if you go by their dividend payout ratio of 40%, they will pay higher than they did the previous year,” he said.

Mr Afreh Biney noted that the Golden Beach Group, comprising La Palm, Elmina and Busia hotels, remains under pressure. SSNIT has therefore engaged consultants to develop a five-year blueprint to restore the group’s fortunes.

“We advertise for consultants to tender and provide us with a business blueprint on turning those hotels around in five years. We are evaluating that tender,” he said.

He revealed that some internal accountability measures are already producing results.

“La Palm last year, for the first time in fact, we don’t even remember the last time La Palm made a profit, made a profit. It may be small, ¢1.8 million, but at least bigger things start with humble beginnings. The turnaround process is beginning now,” he stated.

Mr Afreh Biney suggested that leasing could be one option for loss-making assets such as Elmina Beach Resort.

“Let’s pick Elmina. Elmina today makes losses for you. Elmina requires extra injection of fresh capital to turn around,” he explained.

“Let’s say you sit with an investor and lease Elmina out and say, okay, this is the size of our investment. We are leasing it out for a period. Pay us ¢10 million every year. Run it if you make a margin, it’s for you, but invest in the assets to ensure that the asset is kept well.”

He stressed that no decision has been taken and that SSNIT would await the consultants’ recommendations before deciding on the way forward.

“But I’m not saying we have even gotten there. I’m just sharing with you some management models that could be adopted, but we would first have to wait and get the work done by the consultants,” he said.

The SSNIT boss was emphatic that there are no discussions about bringing in a strategic investor for Labadi Beach Hotel.

“There is no, absolutely no conversation anywhere about Labadi Beach Hotel,” he said.

He added that Labadi’s financial position is strong enough to support future expansion, noting that discussions are already underway to increase the hotel's room count.

“We will not sell La Palm,” he added.