Ghana Hotel Association is hungry for government interventions to revive businesses

Business news for Thursday, September 17, 2020

Source: GNA

2020-09-17

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The Ghana Hotel Association (GHA) on Wednesday called on the government to implement specific measures in support of the industry to allow the Association to revive collapsing hotels from the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The appeal followed the drastic drop in hotel operations, especially occupancy rates since the nation recorded its first cases of the pandemic in March.

Dr. Edward Ackah-Nyamike, President of the Association at a press conference organized by the Association on the topic “Six months after the COVID-19 pandemic: Overview of government support for the hotel sector,” said the hotel industry was one of the companies hardest hit as a result of respiratory disease.

He said that the measures implemented by the government to contain the pandemic, such as the closure of borders, including the Kotoka International Airport, the prohibition of social gatherings such as conferences, events and restaurants, had a serious impact on the economic activities with which the hotels were no exception.

The hotel industry also faced a number of shocks such as the cancellation of all bookings for individuals, groups and conferences, the complete closure of some hotels accompanied by challenges of maintaining facilities, he said, adding that at least 64 percent of the hotels closed. at one time or another from March 2020 to date.

Other impacts were a drastic reduction in occupancy rates to below 20 percent for hotels that remained open, and the temporary and permanent layoff of some hotel workers, which caused more than half of hotels in Ghana to lay off permanently. thousands, conservatively. more than 40,000.

The challenges with the payment of salaries, pensions, contracted loans, taxes, credit facilities to vendors and suppliers, utility bills especially for water and electricity and challenges with the payment of rents for hotels that operate in rented premises were other effects of the COVID-19, Dr. Ackah – Nyamike said.

Despite the hotel industry meeting with the president about his announcement to give free water to all Ghanaians, the business community was later exempted according to an explanation from Ms. Cecillia Abena Dapaah, Minister of Sanitation and Resources Water and Ghana Water Company, Dr. Ackah-Nyamike said, the industry during the six-month period, still received their water and electricity bills to make payments.

The GHA chair said he was saddened to note that four months after the online application for the Cedi 1 billion soft loan allocated by the government to be disbursed by the National Board of Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) as part of measures to reduce the effect of COVID-19 on businesses, only two percent of GHA members had benefited from the outlay.

The GHA called on the government to order the reimbursement of water bills paid by hotels during the months of April to September 2020, introduce the 50 percent discount in hotels for the last quarter of the year and inculcate to the NBSSI to expedite the loan disbursement process.

He also asked the government to inculcate the Ministry of Tourism, Art and Culture to accelerate the Ghana Tourism Development Project grant, issue more and better details on the GH ¢ 3 billion grant facility and how luxury hotels could access to her.

The GHA also called on the government to suspend the payment of VAT, the National Health Insurance Tax and the GETFund by hotels during the last quarter of the year or to put all hotel companies at the VAT rate of three percent, for Income Tax.

He also asked for an extension until December 31, 2020, the remission of penalties on major debts to taxpayers who redeemed their outstanding debts with the Ghana Revenue Authority.

The Association also implored the government to order all Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies and hotel regulatory bodies to extend the deadline for payment of regulatory and licensing fees, including property fees, until December 31, 2020.