MINISTER CALLS FOR CLEAN-UP OF TOR (Pg 3) 09-06-09

Story: Kofi Yeboah & Francis Yaw Kyei

THE Minister of Energy, Dr Joe Oteng-Agyei, has called for a clean-up at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to eliminate inefficiencies that have plunged the company into huge debt.
He cited security lapses, over-employment and increased commercial activities on the premises of TOR as some of the factors contributing to the company’s inefficiencies.
Dr Oteng-Agyei expressed the concern at the inauguration of the board of directors of TOR in Accra yesterday after he had earlier inaugurated the board of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).
Dr Oteng-Agyei charged the members to bring their expertise to bear on the job and ensure that the refinery became a strategic company in the West African sub-region.
As of 2008, the total TOR debt, according to government information, stood at GH¢11.46 million as of 2008 up from GH¢3.2 million as of 2000.
Pointing at some of the inefficiencies in the system to the Daily Graphic later, the minister said in spite of the acquisition of an equipment known as Residual Fuel Catalytic Cracker (RFCC) whose automated nature did not require so many hands at TOR, the number of the company’s employees was still very high.
Again, he said, despite the numerous close-circuit television (CCTV) equipment installed at TOR and the presence of security guards on the premises, “the system there is not full-proof”.
Dr Oteng-Agyei cited instances where about 18 tanks loaded from the premises of TOR but only three of them reached, describing the situation as “unacceptable”.
He expressed concern about what he considered to be too many commercial activities on the premises of TOR, pointing out that as a refinery, the premises of the company should not be engulfed in such activities but, instead, must be kept clean to reflect its image.
Dr Oteng-Agyei said TOR was a strategic asset to the nation and the government’s overriding objective was to redeem it from all inefficiencies and make it more viable and beneficial to the nation.
He said the government was committed to eliminating the huge under-recovery and debt burden of TOR.
The minister, who administered the oaths of office and secrecy to the nine-member TOR board, charged the members to approach their task with unity of purpose to achieve results.
He advised them to be guided by the tenets of transparency, probity, accountability and fairness as President Mills demands of all government appointees, cautioning that if anyone consciensciously or unconsciensciously, advertently or inadvertently did anything to undermine those tenets, “we will have no problem in offloading you from the board”.
Dr Oteng-Agyei announced plans by the ministry to collaborate with the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) to organise an orientation programme for all board members of institutions under the ministry in order to define their roles and avoid interference from any quarter.
Adding his voice to the minister’s admonition, a Deputy Minister of Energy, Dr Kwabena Donkor, said the problems of TOR “beat any business paradigm”, but he encouraged the board to appreciate the peculiar challenges of the company and run it as a business to ensure its vibrancy and survival “and leave the politics to us”.
On behalf of the TOR board, the chairman, Mr Eric Okai, a banker, said the members were very clear on the President’s admonition for transparency, probity, accountability and fairness and assured the minister that “We will do what it takes to make sure that we do not let you down.”
Other members of the board are Osabarima Kwesi Atta II, Omanhen of Oguaa Traditional Area; Mr Alfred Agbesi, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashaiman; Nana Mprah Besemuna III, Krachiwura; Mr E. M. Commodore-Mensah, an agriculturist and businessman; Ms Elisabeth Adjei-Mensah, a legal practitioner; Kazawura Yahaha; Alhaji A. A. Abubakar, a businessman, and Dr Kwame Ampofo, acting Managing Director of TOR.
Addressing the nine-member NPA board, Dr Oteng-Agyei reminded the members of the task they had accepted, for instance, the need to review the petroleum price formula to ensure a correlation between the price of crude oil and the finished product.
He urged the board to educate the public on the pricing concept to dispel the notion that the government was responsible for petroleum price fixing.
The Chairman of the board, Mr Kojo Fynn, a chartered accountant, said the members recognised the important role NPA played in the petroleum sector and the country’s development and promised to discharge their duties efficiently.
The other members of the board are Mr William Tewiah, a banker; Mrs Clothilde Agbernoto, a legal practitioner; Mr Ralph Roland, a chartered accountant; Dr Boni Yao Gerbeh, a lecturer at the Legon Centre for International Affairs (LECIA); Mr Alex Mould, the Executive Secretary of the NPA; Mr Emmanuel Armstrong; Mr Suleman Koney and Mrs Barbara Serwah Asamoah.