Appoint only qualified persons to energy sector boards – COPEC to govt

Fill energy sector institutions with persons with the requisite knowledge, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has told the government.

A statement from the government on January 7, 2021, indicated a dissolution of the various boards and corporations in accordance with the country’s presidential transition laws.

Executive Secretary of COPEC, Duncan Amoah who spoke to Citi Business News said leadership in the energy sector must be made up of persons with the requisite knowledge and expertise.

This, he believes will ensure that these entities are functional and profitable.

“Your energy institutions contribute either positively or negatively to your economic life. Once you have leadership that is mindful of numbers and are willing to take economic decisions, the energy establishments are safe.

If you put in leaderships that are also there to take political-reign-seeking decisions that only allows them to enrich a few people at the expense of the Ghanaian people, we will continue to have the kind of misalignment and problems that we have in the energy sector”.

The energy sector has been eventful over the past couple of years with several industrial unrests and some concerns with regard to the management of some state institutions.

Last year, for instance, workers of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) gave the President a one-week ultimatum to dissolve the board of the company because they claim it was incompetent in overseeing and managing the refinery.

The workers made the demand when they staged a peaceful protest at the company’s premises.

They argued that, aside from the minimal production that goes on in the refinery as and when there is a contract, there hasn’t been any major production for close to two years hence their call for members on the board to be sacked.