Minister-designate for Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh
The Minister-designate for Energy Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has stated that when he is given the nod to lead the Ministry, he will find the right partnership under his leadership to bring back TOR to life.
He made this claim while responding to questions asked at the Ministerial vetting by the Appointments Committee of the Parliament house of Ghana.
Speaking on the indebtedness and inefficiencies at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) which has saddled the operations of the company, Dr. Opoku-Prempeh also stated that when given the nod, he will ensure that, the sector has the adequate support and partnership to equip it to operate in full capacity.
“TOR and it’s crippling debt, infrastructural issues and equipment issues are well noted. Since the 4th Republic, every president has thought about value addition to our natural resources. The last natural resources that the good Lord gave us is oil, which we already have a refinery to be able to add value to.”
He further stated that “the refinery seems to be losing its ability to do its work, so apart from the debt overhang which is nearly a quarter of a billion, we should collectively decide that we don’t want to lose TOR. We have to find the right partnerships, managerial infrastructure and equipment to enable TOR to function, we also need to invite other refineries into the system to make it better”. He said.
