Weeks after The Chronicle’s publication on the impending collapse of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) due to heavy debts, the Managing Director, Francis Boateng and his Deputy, Ato Morrison, have been removed from office.
Though the actual reason for the duo’s dismissal is not known, our sources indicate that complains made by workers of the refinery about the suspected mismanagement of the company, which was equally reported by this paper, could be the reason for their dismissal.
This comes to confirm the authenticity of The Chronicle story, which instead of receiving praise, rather got lambasted by a New Patriotic Party apparatchik, Alfred Thompson.
The Chronicle story, which was published on May 20, this year, with the headline “TOR IS COLLAPSING UNDER HEAVY DEBTS”, said the state refinery could collapse at any moment because it owes huge sums of money to Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), the two utility companies – Ghana Water Company (GWC) and Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), its workers and the GRA as well.
The story indicated that the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) disconnected its services to the Refinery over about GH?4 million water bill that had been outstanding and owes the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) about GH?2.3 million as at March this year.
That aside, TOR also owes its workers GH?34 million in Provident fund, so workers who want to access their investment cannot do so, since the coffers are empty.
It is also in arrears of about GH?21 million in the payment of workers’ SSNIT Tier One and Two as at April 2021 and owes the Ghana Revenue Authority to the tune of about GH?85 million in taxes as at April this year.
After this paper’s report on TOR hit the news stand, the self-acclaimed NPP communicator, one Alfred Thompson, who was a panel on UTV’s Adekye Nsoroma morning show, dragged the reputation of this paper down.
Speaking in local dialect, Mr Thompson said this paper has collapsed but the host of the show told him that The Chronicle hasn’t collapsed. He then said that if The Chronicle hasn’t collapsed then TOR has equally not collapsed.
Meanwhile, the challenges faced by TOR is no secret, which many Ghanaians, including the government and the opposition National Democratic Congress are all seeking views, opinions and ideas on how to revive it.
During the vetting of the now Minister of Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Joseph Osei Owusu led Appointment Committee of Parliament indicated that TOR was saddled with indebtedness and some inefficiencies in its operations and asked the Minister what his assessment of the refinery would be and what he would do to change the situation.
The Minister’s response to the committee, which he also shared on his Facebook wall, read “TOR and its crippling debt, infrastructural issues and equipment issues is well noted. Since the 4th Republic, every President has thought about value addition to our natural resources. The last natural resource that the good Lord gave us is oil, which we already have a refinery to be able to add value. Interestingly since we started mining oil commercially, the refinery seems to be losing its ability to do its work.
“So, apart from the debt overhang which is nearly quarter of a billion, we should collectively decide that we don’t want to lose TOR. We have to find the right partnerships, managerial infrastructure and equipment to enable TOR work. We also need to invite other refineries into the system to make it better. It is one of the most engaging situations on our hands.”
That aside, the Deputy-Minister Designate for Energy, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, who also appeared before the Committee admitted that TOR had two major challenges.
He said: “TOR’s challenges are mainly two; obsolete equipment and balance sheet problems. Balance sheet because they are not able to buy crude on their own and for the equipment they have not been renewed for a long time as a result of lack of investment in TOR.
“I recall when my Minister appeared here before you, he assured you that he was going to look at different arrangements and partnerships to be able to revive TOR and I associate with the answer he gave to this committee.”
Currently, an Interim Management Committee has been constituted and inaugurated by the Energy Minister to oversee to the operations of the refinery until a substantive Managing Director is appointed.
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