The Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers, COPEC, has said that he believes there is a larger cartel at the Tema oil refinery that
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| There is a bigger thieves cartel in TOR: COPEC - www.EweGhana.Net |
The Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers, COPEC, has said that he believes there is a larger cartel at the Tema oil refinery that is stealing state resources from Ghana's only state-owned refinery.
Mr. Duncan Amoah's comment follows a revelation by the Refinery Interim Management Committee that he has intercepted some staff members and investigated them for various crimes, which have resulted in financial losses.
A statement signed by the company's Interim Management stated: “The Interim Administration Committee (IMC) of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Ltd. has, as part of its ongoing mandate, to carry out technical and human resources audits, and also access To viable business associations for the refinery, they have concluded that ongoing financial and product losses must be completely eradicated for the refinery to reach its vast potential.
Therefore, the IMC has committed to establishing a "zero tolerance culture for unacceptable product losses" and has initiated investigations into a series of product storage and transfer losses recorded at the company over a period of time.
" "As a result, a number of workers who hold various positions of responsibility and accountability in relation to product transfer have been questioned and banned pending investigation results." “The IMC would like to reiterate, however, that investigations will be conducted with due regard to a fair process.
We implore everyone to be patient and not to jump to conclusions until the investigations are completed ”. “Those found not responsible for financial loss and product loss would be fully restored while those found to be responsible and accountable in the chain of command (with regard to product loss during storage, movement and transfer will be dealt with in result ".
Below is a list of product losses at TOR, which triggered management action A. The disappearance of 105,927 liters of diesel, which belonged to a BDC customer on September 4, 2021. B. The improper loading of 252,000 liters of Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) instead of normal kerosene in BRV trucks on the loading gantry between September 21 and 25, 2021. C.
The disappearance of 18 drums of electrical cables worth GHS 10.4 million from the TOR technical warehouse, discovered in April 2021. D. The disappearance of a product (LPG) belonging to a client between 2012 and 2015, as a result of which TOR became indebted to the client in the amount of USD4.8 million, as confirmed by an audit by Ernst and Young. E. The reasons why the funds granted by the Ministry of Finance for the payment of TOR's debt to a TOR project consulting company were not paid until a garnishment order was placed on the company's account at July 2021.
F. Issuance of an unauthorized letter admitting responsibility for the debt to TOR with the corresponding computation of interest without the approval of IMC. G. Loss of gasoline to a BDC customer. Commenting on the matter on the Class91.3FM 12 Live noon news on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, Amoah told Valentina Ofori-Afriyie that: “These are simply criminal matters and although the IMC has done a job of Farmer by publishing this, we believe at this point that TOR should not be left alone to be investigated ”. “It would take a lot of independent bodies to get in there too. I'm pretty sure the intercepted may just be the scapegoats. It goes far beyond the very few names that we are seeing put there and they are probably the leaders, who due to their negligence, or deliberate actions, led to this disappearance or losses to the refinery ”.
"We strongly believe that beyond these already published names, there is a deeper ring, a bigger ring, a bigger poster that works in such a way that everything that you can get your hands on should disappear," Amoah said.
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