The Board of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has responded to concerns by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Dame over the lease of the refinery to Torentco Asset Management Limited.
According to the AG, Torentco lacked the technical capacity to handle the operations of the refinery.
Godfred Dame indicated in a statement issued on November 24 that “From the DDR, TAML has no financial and technical capacity to undertake the proposed transaction. TAML has no established affiliation with Vitol or with any other company, which has the needed funds and technical capacity to undertake the Proposed Lease Transaction and without whose support TAML lacks the financial and technical capacity to undertake its obligation under the Proposed Lease Transaction.”
Issues concerning the company’s credibility were brought before the Attorney General by workers of TOR and the Petroleum Workers Union after they said the deal shortchanged the country and put their job security at risk.
But the TOR board said those concerns were expected to be confirmed as part of the final due diligence and the completion of the various conditions precedent to the transaction.
TOR Board, in a statement issued on November 26, said, “The issues raised in the Attorney General’s letter are well understood by the board and management of TOR but happen to be items that are expected to be confirmed as part of the final due diligence and the completion of the various conditions precedent to the transaction.”
“The return to a thriving work environment where the staff can once again be proud to be employed by TOR, and the general upliftment of staff morale, is also a key priority for the board,” it added.
This was after the General Transport, Petroleum, and Chemical Workers Union (GTPCWU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) of Ghana re-submitted the Due Diligence Report (DDR) for a reassessment of Torentco’s credibility.
SSD/MA
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