• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Photo Gallery
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Citi TV
Thursday, May 26, 2022
Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Showbiz
  • Coronavirus
  • Infographics
  • Livestream
  • Videos
No Result
View All Result
Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Showbiz
  • Coronavirus
  • Infographics
  • Livestream
  • Videos
No Result
View All Result
Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana
No Result
View All Result

Minority to push for parliamentary inquiry into missing fuel scandal at TOR

Delali Adogla-BessabyDelali Adogla-Bessa
October 6, 2021
Reading Time: 4 mins read
ShareShareShareShare

The Minority in Parliament has said it will push for a parliamentary inquiry into the disappearance of fuel, product storage, and transfer losses at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR).

In a statement, it said it did not trust the government to conduct a transparent probe into the matter.

“The Minority wishes to serve notice that it will not sit unconcerned for…Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government to plunge the only oil refinery in the country into comatose,” it stated.

“We, therefore, wish to serve notice that we shall, in the coming weeks, trigger the appropriate rules and processes for a full-scale parliamentary inquiry into this broad daylight thievery and embarrassing spectacle.”

Aside from the intent to cause a parliamentary probe, the Minority also called on the government to appoint non-partisan persons onto the management and governing board of the refinery.

It also wants government to stop “the unnecessary political interferences in the operations of the refinery”.

The issues of the refinery came to light when TOR publicised its interdiction of some of its staff pending the conclusion of investigations into the disappearance of fuel, product storage, and transfer losses at the refinery.

The interdiction was part of the recommendations by an interim management committee, which was inaugurated in June 2021, to oversee the affairs of the company as part of the government’s efforts to restructure the company.

The investigations by the committee disclosed that there were a number of incidents related to product storage and transfer losses, including but not limited to the disappearance of 105,927 litres of gas oil on September 4, 2021.

In addition, there was also the disappearance of 18 drums of electrical cables worth GH¢10.4 million from the Technical Storehouse of TOR, which was discovered in April 2021.

There was also the loss of Naphtha to a BDC client and the wrongful loading of 252,000 litres of Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK), instead of regular Kerosene into BRV Trucks  between September 21 and 25, 2021.”

In losses predating this government, there was also the detection of LPG belonging to a client between 2012 and 2015, as a result of which TOR became indebted to the client to the tune of $4.8 million.

These revelations followed the three-member interim management committee conducting a financial and technical audit as part of efforts to revamp the refinery.

Find below the full statement

MINORITY CAUCUS TO LAUNCH PARLIAMENTARY PROBE INTO THE MISSING OIL SCANDAL AT TOR.

The Minority Caucus in Parliament has noted with disgust the unexplained disappearance of 105,927 litres of Gas Oil, a wrongful loading of 252,000 litres of Aviation Turbine Kerosene, the disappearance of 18 drums of electrical cables, the disappearance of LPG and loss of Naphtha. The estimated cost of the stolen items is in excess of GHS42 million, that is, excluding the value of the Naphtha.

This unfortunate development comes on the heels of several corruption scandals that have characterized the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP Government particularly, in the energy sector which is fast becoming a sector noted for naked thievery and flagrant disregard for due processes.

The Tema Oil Refinery has its standard operating procedures requiring the daily briefing to management on stock accounting and inventory, which confirms to management the total quantity and quality in their tanks and the identities of parties who own such stocks. It is therefore untenable to hear of such huge losses without any tangible explanation.

This scandal raises issues of dereliction of duty on the part of the management of the Company, which require parliamentary inquiry.

Since 2017, the Tema Oil Refinery has been mismanaged into a state of comatose, with its attendant appointment of 4 different Chief Executive Officers. Indeed, it is becoming obvious that the refinery is gradually moving into a state of total collapse. This is why the current Government has proposed to turn it into a Tank farm.

Prior to leaving office in January 2017, the NDC/Mahama government had initiated, implemented and managed the restructuring of the entire refinery operations. In our quest to revamp the refinery, the NDC procured Nine (9) million barrels of crude to be refined, including an indigenous crude from the TEN fields in Ghana.

The Refinery was saved millions of dollars by restructuring its existing debt of $650 million which we inherited and reduced it by 300million dollars. This was done through the issuance of the Tema Oil Refinery Bond in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Petroleum to pay off four (4) Commercial Banks.

As a matter of fact, the NDC/Mahama government bequeathed crude oil worth $2million including the TEN crude to the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government when we were leaving office in January 2017.TOR got a tolling fee on this crude oil to help finance its operations. Sadly, this crude oil was disposed of under very opaque and suspicious circumstances by the Akuffo Addo/Bawunia led NPP government.

Additionally, the NDC/Mahama government attracted the largest single investment in the downstream industry in Ghana’s recent years for the Tema Offshore Mooring Systems, now called the Ghana Petroleum Mooring Systems (GPMS). An amount of $110million was brought into the TOR through this structure as at December 2016, a balance of $90million was in TOR accounts when the NDC government left office.

Despite these major interventions, TOR incurred a loss of $24 million-plus, after processing just 950,000 barrels of crude which was enough to plunge TOR into further debt, leading to a forced shutdown of the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) on the morning of Friday 30th November 2018, largely due to poor management and political interferences.

It is sad to note that the managers of the refinery failed to adequately find off-takers for the refined products before sourcing for the crude, thus rendering the products “stranded” in tanks. This bizarre business module means the refinery made huge losses as prices kept falling on the global commodity market and giving room for siphoning of the products.

The Minority wishes to serve notice that it will not sit unconcerned for greedy and self-seeking Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government to plunge the only oil refinery in the country into comatose.

We are well aware of the cover-up in the BOST scandal and cannot, therefore, trust this Government to conduct any fair, transparent and unbiased investigation. We, therefore, wish to serve notice that we shall in the coming weeks, trigger the appropriate rules and processes for a full-scale Parliamentary inquiry into this broad daylight thievery and embarrassing spectacle.

In the meantime, we wish to call on government to appoint competent personnel devoid of partisan parochial interest onto the management and governing Board of the refinery, and also desist from the unnecessary political interferences in the operations of the refinery.

Signed,
John Abdulai Jinapor- MP for Yapei Kusawgu and Ranking Member for Mines and Energy

ShareTweetSendSend
Previous Post

Government will guard against exploitation of mineral resources up north – Lands Minister

Next Post

Regularise small-scale mining sector – U/East chiefs appeal to government

Related Posts

Peter Nortsu-Kotoe
Top Stories

Free SHS needs to be reviewed to sustain it – Nortsu Kotoe

May 12, 2022
Top Stories

Minority files injunction application against implementation of E-levy

April 19, 2022
Top Stories

We’re analyzing Serwaa Broni’s interview for possible legal action against Akufo-Addo – Minority

April 19, 2022
News

Privileges Committee: Habib Iddrisu shoots down calls for Joe Wise to recuse himself

April 12, 2022
Top Stories

Minority accuses Transport Minister of victimizing dismissed Ghana Airport MD

April 4, 2022
Top Stories

Minority demands accountability for GH¢2bn allocated to Health Insurance Scheme

April 1, 2022
Next Post

Regularise small-scale mining sector - U/East chiefs appeal to government

TOP STORIES

NPP elections: Aspirants who appealed their disqualification cleared – Committee

May 26, 2022

Nkoranza: IGP’s visit reassuring – Albert Donkor’s family

May 26, 2022

Let’s join hands to curb flooding in Accra – Mayor

May 26, 2022
Load More
ADVERTISEMENT
Citinewsroom – Comprehensive News in Ghana

CitiNewsroom.com is Ghana's leading news website that delivers high quality innovative, alternative news that challenges the status quo.

Archives

Download App

Download

Download

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Photo Gallery
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Citi TV

© 2021 All Rights Reserved Citi Newsroom.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Showbiz
  • Coronavirus
  • Infographics
  • Livestream
  • Videos

© 2021 All Rights Reserved Citi Newsroom.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT