With promises of job creation, tourist attraction, and local economic growth, the project appeared to be a win-win for all parties involved.
However, nearly 11 years later, the hotel is still unfinished, raising questions about the National Social Security and Insurance Trust’s (NASSIT) management abilities. According to NASSIT, the project has stalled due to a variety of issues, including funding disbursement delays, COVID-19, and the Ministry of Lands’ failure to sign the land’s title plan. Despite these challenges, NASSIT has taken no action to reclaim the hotel from the concessionaire.
Three years ago, Shapoorgi Pallonji Energining Construction Companies stopped working on the project. One of the most pressing concerns about the project was the hotel’s timely completion.
The agreement required the concessionaire to provide a performance bond, and NASSIT reserved the right to reclaim the hotel if the concessionaire failed to complete it within the specified timeframe. However, NASSIT has yet to take any action to enforce this provision, keeping the project in limbo.
Trudy Morgan, Program Director for the Hilton Freetown Cape Sierra Hotel, has been tight-lipped about the project’s status, fueling speculation about its future. Many people doubt NASSIT’s ability to oversee and manage such complex projects, particularly when pensioners’ money is at stake. The failure to obtain Ministry of Lands approval for the title plan has raised questions about NASSIT’s ability to navigate bureaucratic hurdles and ensure the success of its investments.
Amid these challenges, NASSIT pensioners are left wondering what will happen to the funds they have invested in the project. With the project only 75% complete and funding suspended until the Ministry of Lands signs off on the title plan, according to NASSIT, the future of the Hilton Freetown Cape Sierra Hotel remains uncertain.
As NASSIT struggles to recover pensioners’ funds and save the project, concerns about the oversight and management of such high-profile investments persist. The failure of the Hilton Freetown Cape Sierra Hotel project serves as a cautionary tale about the risks associated with large-scale development projects, as well as the importance of effective governance and oversight. Only time will tell whether NASSIT can turn this project around and keep its promises to pensioners and Sierra Leoneans.
In our next edition, we will give full details of how NASSIT is struggling to recover pensioners’ money invested in many failed projects.
