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Former Deputy Minister for Power in the erstwhile John Dramani Mahama administration, John Jinapor is calling for the dissolution of the Interim Management Committee of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) with immediate effect.

According to the Member of Parliament for Yapei Kusawgu, the Interim Management Committee for the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has failed to live up to its mandate for which it was set up as it could not prevent the 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.

Speaking on Okay FM’s 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, John Abdulai Jinapor debunked the assertion by some government communication machinery that it was the interim management committee that discovered the missing oil and other items, hence, deserves a commendation.

He intimated that the thievery happened under the watch of the interim management committee whose mandate should have been to protect and prevent any such occurrence, making the committee irrelevant to be maintained.

“So where is the commendation for this so-called interim management committee? They were supposed to prevent it; that is their core job and so they should not come and say that the oil has been stolen and so they are going to investigate it. Then what is the use of the interim management committee? The committee was set up to serve as a watchman or security man and since you came, things are still getting stolen and you want to investigate it,” he indicated.

“This committee has to be dissolved immediately for the reason that they slept on the job. They did not put in place the right structures to prevent the loss of that oil. That is what they should have done. They should have put in place mechanisms that will make sure that the missing oil will stop at TOR. You don’t sit there for the things to get missing before you investigate. They are supposed to prevent that and that is the truth,” he chided.

TOR interdicts staff over product losses

The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has been hit by financial and product losses in excess of GH¢20 million, which has led to the interdiction of some workers of the refinery.

The incidents leading to the interdictions occurred between 2012 and 2015, with others occurring in April and September this year.

The incidents border on the disappearance and wrongful loading of products, leading to TOR incurring debts, the failure of staff to pay TOR debtors their due, in spite of the availability of funds, and the taking of decisions with financial implications without recourse to the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the refinery.

Details

The statement listed the issues to include the disappearance of 105,927 litres of gas oil that belonged to a bulk oil distribution company on September 4, this year and the wrongful loading of 252,000 litres of aviation turbine kerosene (ATK), instead of regular kerosene, into bulk road vehicle (BRV) trucks at the loading gantry between September 21 and 25, 2021.

It said the rest were the disappearance of 18 drums of electrical cables worth GH¢10.4 million from the technical storehouse of TOR, discovered in April 2021; the disappearance of liquefied petroleum gas (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, as confirmed by an Ernst and Young audit, and the loss of Naphtha (a type of flammable oil) to a bulk distribution company.

The IMC

Chaired by Mr Nobert Cormla-Djamposu Anku, with Messrs William Ntim Boadu and Okyere Baffuor Sarpong as members, the IMC was put in place in June this year, after the Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, had relieved the substantive management members of their positions.

It was tasked to, among other things, ensure a smooth transfer from the outgone directors, undertake technical and human resource audits, as well as receive and assess viable partnerships for TOR, if any.

Minority Caucus To Launch Parliamentary Probe

The Minority Caucus in Parliament says they will launch a probe into 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 according to them 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 statement said.

In a statement signed by John Abdulai Jinapor, Member of Parliament for Yapei Kusawgu and Ranking Member for Mines and Energy, he explained that 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," the statement added.

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