Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Kwasi Afreh Biney, has firmly ruled out any sale of the Trust’s hotel investments.

He declared that neither Labadi Beach Hotel nor La Palm Royal Beach Hotel will be sold, despite ongoing discussions to improve performance across parts of the portfolio.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition recently, Mr Afreh Biney sought to end speculation surrounding SSNIT’s intentions for its hospitality assets.

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

His comments came amid questions about whether improving performance at Labadi Beach Hotel had removed the need for strategic investors or fresh capital injections.

Mr Afreh Biney described Labadi Beach Hotel as one of SSNIT’s strongest investments, noting that it has consistently delivered returns to contributors through dividend payments.

“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 added that the hotel’s latest financial performance suggests an even bigger dividend payout is likely this year.

“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.”

The SSNIT boss disclosed that discussions are instead focused on expanding Labadi Beach Hotel rather than bringing in investors.

“To the contrary, we are actually engaging Labadi on expanding Labadi, the number of rooms that Labadi has. There are conversations today to expand Labadi.”

He was equally emphatic when asked whether any discussions were underway to bring a strategic investor into Labadi Beach Hotel.

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

According to him, the hotel is financially strong enough to raise capital independently if needed.

“When Labadi can even go to a bank today and borrow, because Labadi has one of the best balance sheets. So, even if they decide not to come to SSNIT for funds and decide to go to the financial market, they will be successful.”

While Labadi continues to perform strongly, Mr Afreh Biney acknowledged that the Golden Beach Group, comprising La Palm, Elmina and Busua, remains challenged.

He said SSNIT has hired consultants through a competitive process to develop a five-year turnaround blueprint for the hotels and is currently evaluating bids.

According to him, some accountability measures introduced by management are already yielding 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.”

Mr Afreh Biney said various management models could be considered for struggling assets, including leasing arrangements that generate guaranteed income while preserving ownership.

However, he stressed that no decisions have been made and that any future action would be guided by the consultants’ recommendations.

“The report is in, and we will look at it, but I can assure you we will not sell any of them.”

Asked specifically about La Palm, his response was brief and definitive: “We will not sell La Palm.”