By Mustapha Sesay
The National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) has expressed concern over the disagreement over the status of Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko Hotel (RBMYH). NASSIT officials are worried that it could affect the business viability of the hotel.
The management of the hotel has been embroiled in a war of words with the Ministry of Tourism after comments by the minister, Sidi Yaya Tunis, appeared to have downgraded the hotel. When Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko Hotel was inaugurated in 2014, it was described as a Five Star hotel. The management also said it had a license from the relevant authority to operate as such.
But last week, reports emerged of Mr Tunis telling the parliamentary oversight committee on cultural affairs that the hotel was in fact not rated Five Star because it lacked the necessary conditions.
That comment prompted condemnation from the West Africa Holdings Limited (WAHL), which constitute the board that supervises the management of the hotel. NASSIT, as the largest shareholder, accounting for 84 percent stake in the hotel, is a member of the WAHL.
Dr. Brima Ibrahim Baimba Kargbo, Director of Investment at NASSIT, told Politico that they were concerned that this fiasco could impact on pricing of rooms and other services provided by the hotel.
Tunis also spoke of plans to re-classify all hotels in the country.
Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko Hotel was converted from the wholly government-owned Mammy Yoko Hotel which was privatised and refurbished after over a decade out of service, the result of the civil war and mismanagement. The global hotel chain Radisson Blu was contracted to manage it, hence the combined name.
The newly refurbished hotel was inaugurated shortly before the deadly Ebola struck.
Kargbo said NASSIT had taken over the hotel, which now has an international brand name, nurtured its growth process from “infant stage”, and that their concern was not on whether it was a five star hotel or not.
“The statement of the Minister will obviously affect the investment into the business because it will definitely have an impact on the pricing of the rooms and other facilities in the hotel,” he said.
In its statement last week, the WAHL had said the hotel had been classified by the National Tourist Board (NTB) and that there was no need for doubts. Kargbo reiterated this point to Politico, noting that only the NTB had the mandate to undertake such exercise in the country.
“It is not my responsibility, or our division’s responsibility or NASSIT’s responsibility to classify hotels. There are international classifications and, besides, locally there are classifications done by National Tourist Board. And I believe the National Tourist Board classified Radisson Blu as five star hotel.”
But in spite of the disagreement, NASSIT is currently seeking to own 100 percent stake in the hotel, according to Kargbo. He said that they were almost at the concluding stage of negotiation with the hotel’s board.
NASSIT, as the sole national social security provider, has been engaged in a number of businesses. Some of them have been shrouded in controversies, notably the procurement of two ferries which failed to serve their purpose. But its recent focus on the hospitality industry seems to be working well for the Trust. Kargbo said they had invested in a number of hotels in the country, citing the Golden Tulip as one example, besides RBMYH.
Kargbo said Ebola caused the near collapse of Radisson, but noted that the epidemic turnout to be a blessing.
“The outbreak of Ebola in June drove occupancy to as low as 10 percent, so that it seemed as if the investment was going to die. But thanks to the management’s resilience and the expertise of the out-gone manager, it turned-out to be a boom for the hotel. In 2015 they were able to make a net profit of Le16 billion,” he revealed.
While NASSIT and WAHL Continue to defend the five star status of the hotel, the Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Sidi Yaya Tunis, continues to insist on his position, although making some classifications. He told Politico on Tuesday that he still stood by his words that Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko Hotel didn’t meet the standard of a five star hotel. He challenged the management of the hotel to prove him wrong.
Tunis said in an interview at his Brookfields office in Freetown that he had “no regret” over his comment. He said the argument put forward by the owners that the hotel was a top class in the country did not mean that it was a five star hotel.
The hotel’s management had also expressed concern about the minister’s suggestion to reclassify all hotels in the country with the help of the ministry of Youths. Tunis said that the management took his comment out of context and that it was merely reacting to a newspaper publication without fully understanding what he said in parliament.
He said what he meant with regards the involvement of the youths ministry was for the latter to help in providing man power to conduct a survey of hotels in the country as part of his re-classification drive.
“Radisson Blu is classified under Category 1 Class 1, which by right should commensurate to a five star hotel. But when you look at it, it is not a five star hotel and I stand by those words, and they need to improve on their standard,” the minister said.
He went on: “And the reason why I have a problem with the classification is that they are classified as Class 1 but so also is M J Motel [in Makeni], so also is Wusuem Hotel [in Makeni], and all of them are not of the same standard. So there is a need for us to do re-classification and that is why I said they took my statement out of context. They should be happy, or are they telling me they are fine being in the same category with those other hotels?” he asked, adding “as Minister all I want is to see that the hotels should charge prices that commensurate to the services they provide. I want to see tourism strive; if a tourist comes to a hotel and he doesn’t have satisfaction from a hotel that is charging high, he would not come the next time.”
Tunis added that it was dishonest to miss lead customers into believing that a hotel was five star when in reality it was not. He said that dishonesty in itself would not only undermine the industry but also had the potential to kill it.
The minister nonetheless said he was not denying the fact that the hotel was a top brand name across the world and a top hotel in the country. He said the management, however, needed to improve on their amenities to meet the standard of other five star hotels.
“My job as a Minister is to ensure that we are able to compete with other countries in terms of international standards. I don’t know why our own five star hotels should be different from other five stars in other countries. This is what I am saying and my statement in parliament was not limited to Radisson Blu alone. It was for hotels and all tourist establishments in the country. My focus was on standards and services provided versus prices that are charged. I want to attract tourists to Sierra Leone.”
Tunis also expressed concern over the transportation services between Lungi and Freetown, as well as the high cost of airfare which has also been highlighted as a factor that has made the country to be less attractive. He vowed to address all those challenges.
(C) Politico 29/06/16
