The Ghana Hoteliers Association has threatened legal action against the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) due to unpaid bills for hosting guests during the 13th African Games in Accra.
The hoteliers have received only 20 percent of the agreed payment and say their repeated attempts to obtain the remaining balance from the Ministry have been unsuccessful.
Dr. Edward Ackah-Nyameke, President of the Hoteliers Association, expressed his concerns to Citi News on Sunday, urging the government to fulfill its financial commitments.
“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.
The 13th African Games hosted over 13,000 people, including 5,000 athletes, 3,000 technical officials, 3,000 volunteers, and 2,000 guests from 54 African countries, many of whom stayed in Accra hotels.
The LOC and the Ministry of Youth and Sports had agreed on rates with the hoteliers before the games. The Ministry made an initial payment of 20 percent, with a promise to pay the remaining 80 percent after the games.
Despite the games concluding on March 23, the Ministry has not yet settled the outstanding balance.
