The Executive Director of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), Kosi Yankey-Ayeh has indicated that the Ghana Hotel Association delivered inadequate data on its members, which has spiraled into their inability to access the stimulus package.
Speaking in an interview, she noted that, the current disbursement of funds is only for micro businesses, a category these hotels do not fall under.
“We said we were starting with the micro businesses and majority of the beneficiaries from the hotel industry do not fall in the micro. So, from that process forward we had not moved on with them because they do not fall under the micro”.
“So when we got into the disbursement for the small and medium businesses, we reached out to the majority of their associations because we realized that majority of them who have applied did not have data or that the data they provided was not sufficient”.
“We also realized that during the disbursement, even though some of the associations were giving us data they said they do not have all the names of their association members”.
Kosi Yankey- Ayeh
The Executive Director of the NBSSI’s comments was in response to the President of Ghana Hotels Association, Dr. Edward Ackah-Nyamekeh, had earlier in an interview disclosed that, hotels in Ghana will be laying off more workers in the coming days following their inability to access the stimulus package.
Dr. Ackah-Nyamekeh noted that two months after members of his Association applied to benefit from the package, they have not yet received any positive feedback.
This according the Assocition’s President has further strained their businesses and pushed them into difficulties in the wake of the effect of the pandemic.
“Two months after the applications commenced, we are yet to receive anything and the two months after the applications means five months into the pandemic”.
“We have been on the roof shouting but the excuse that we have been given is that they started with the micro businesses, those who requested for the GH¢1000 and the GH¢1500. They are also talking of the numbers that applied, hundreds of thousands and so they are having to move in phases”.
“Right from the beginning we said the idea of giving the NBSSI that money to share was a non-starter. They promised that once you get the application in two weeks, you will get the disbursement but two months and no show. As we speak now some of the hotels are talking of redundancy. From March up to June, we all play the wait and see game that maybe government will come in but it is becoming obvious,” he stated.
Dr. Ackah-Nyamekeh
Mrs. Kosi Ayeh, however, stated that the data submitted to her outfit were incomplete.
“Looking at the challenges we had faced in the micro aspect and to avoid these challenges going forward, we asked that they must provide data on the members of the association who applied”.
“I am not sure the hotel association gave us all their members. Yes, they gave us data but like majority of the associations, the data that was provided was not complete,” she said.
