In response to some hoteliers’ threats to sue the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for not paying some members 80 percent of the money they owed them after they hosted guests for the 13th African Games in Accra, the Ghana Hoteliers Association has announced that it will look into the matter.
The hoteliers claim that their repeated attempts to obtain the remaining balance from the Ministry have been unsuccessful, despite only obtaining twenty percent of the agreed upon amount.
In an interview with Citi News on Sunday, Hoteliers Association President Dr. Edward Ackah-Nyameke shared his worries on the matter.
He asked the government to take steps to ensure that it pays the organizations it contracts with for services in full.
“The games were organised in March and we are way into July and my briefing is that these rates were negotiated far even before the games started. So one would expect that these were factored into the budgeting for the all-African games and provisions would have been made for payment right after the games.
“As the story has been reported, only 20% upfront payment has been made and 80% is still outstanding. I don’t know whether there are more hotels than the 40 that have been reported. Is it possible that other hotels are also in the same situation.
“We would have to take the issue on because these are members of the industry. I am not too sure how many of them are members of the Association but be that as it may, anything that affects hotels has implications for the industry so we will begin some enquiries into the matter and advocate for the prompt payment of these outstanding arrears.”
“I need to draw your attention to the fact that this is an issue that continues to confront the industry. To the extent that some hotels have decided not to even deal with public agencies because of issues like this. So this is not something new. It is something that has been going on. And I think we would have to find a way to address it and I do hope that with this story coming up, the agencies will see to their financial responsibilities to the hotels,” Dr Ackah-Nyameke said.
Over 13,000 people participated in the 13th African Games this year, including 2,000 visitors from 54 African countries, 3,000 technical officials, 3,000 athletes, and 3,000 volunteers. A large number of these visitors stayed at Accra hotels.
Prior to the games, the hotel tariffs were negotiated by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the League of Owners. According to more than forty hoteliers, the Ministry only paid 20% of the total amount up front, promising to pay the rest 80% as soon as the games were over.
Even after the games ended on March 23, the Ministry still hasn’t paid off its outstanding obligation.
