Former Member of Parliament for Ledzokuku, Dr. Bernard Okoe-Boye, has suggested that the management of the Tema Oil Refinery must not be fully done by the state. He indicated that the state must rather have an interest in its affairs but should not directly run it.
Dr. Okoe Boye indicated that the involvement of the state is in turn causing some form of interferences as has been the case in times past.
“Nations should not run a business; they can be owners of a business. They can get some shares. The potential for TOR is huge; their infrastructure, their assets in this country is huge. Because of that, a lot of people have interest over there but because it is largely run by the state, you can have influences. What I will suggest for TOR is that we must have state interest but it should not be run by the state.”
Dr. Okoe Boye
Speaking on the recent development of some staff of TOR being interdicted for their involvement in the alleged theft of GHS10.4 million worth of cables, he commended the Interim Management Committee for commissioning internal investigations in the operations of the refinery which uncovered the rot.
He requested the Police, The Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) and the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) to take up the matter and further investigate it.
TOR leadership has been proactive
Touching on the actions by those involved in the issue, Dr. Okoe Boye stated that “it takes human beings or people to build, it takes human beings or people to destroy. It takes human beings to sustain or nurture an inefficient system, it takes same human beings to address it.”
However, he averred that the kind of working environment that allows these things to happen is not the same as what TOR is currently has. He explained that recent leadership has been proactive in identifying the issues in the organization.
“That is why most efficient international companies don’t joke with rotation of their branch managers or heads. So that, whatever is happening at one place, when a new person comes you will normally will do an audit of the system and give a report”.
Dr. Okoe Boye
According to him, this is necessary so that in case anything happens, the liability will not ascribe to the new head, assuming it existed before they came.
TOR Manager, Edward Boateng
“I’m sure the new Manager, Edward Boateng, immediately he went there, did his assessment and he has identified these serious liabilities. Whatever happens is a liability, whether it was intentionally committed criminal act or it was due to gross negligence, the investigations will show.”
Dr. Okoe Boye
Alleged theft of GHS10.4 million worth of cables
His comments come after some staff of the TOR were interdicted for their involvement in the alleged theft of GHS10.4 million worth of cables. According to the Interim Management Committee (IMC), the affected staff who hold various positions of responsibility and accountability concerning the transfer of products, have been queried and interdicted pending the outcome of investigations.
In a statement, the Interim Management Committee (IMC) at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Ltd. as part of its ongoing mandate to conduct Technical and HR audits, and also assess viable business partnerships for the Refinery, also concluded that consistent product and financial losses need to be eradicated completely if the Refinery is to meet its vast potential.
The IMC indicated that it has committed to establishing a zero-tolerance culture for unacceptable product losses and has commenced investigations into a number of product storage and transfer losses recorded in the company over a period of time.
“The IMC however wishes to reiterate that the investigations will be carried out with due consideration to a fair process. We implore everyone to be patient and not jump to any conclusions until investigations have been completed. Individuals who are found not responsible nor accountable for the financial and product losses would be fully restored while those found responsible and accountable in the chain of command with respect to product losses during storage, movement and transfer will be dealt with accordingly.”
Interim Management Committee
