TOR debt stands at GHC1789 million in 2009 – Minister

Seth Terkper, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, said the Tema Oil Refinery(TOR) debt has increased in December 2008 from GHC1,678 million to GHC1789 million at the end of 2009.

“As part of effort to find solution to the TOR debt, government in 2010 made a payment of GHC445 million to Ghana Commercial Bank to help reduce the debt and in March 2011, restructured the TOR debt by securitising the debt through the issue of medium term government bonds,” he added.

He said on Tuesday when delivering the Financial statement for 2013 in Accra that government has made payment on behalf of TOR to the tune of GH¢1,137 million.

Mr Terkper said a technical, operational and financial diagnostic review commission was set up to find lasting solution to the perennial financial challenges of TOR.

He said the audit has been completed and the recommendations including maintaining the timely implementation of price adjustment arrangements are being implemented to ensure that TOR operates efficiently on a financially sound basis.

Mr Terkper said funding strains and contractions in credit and output posed threats to stability of the country’s financial system from contagion through various channels.

He said domestic threats to stability emanated mainly from rapid depreciation of the cedi, which constituted the major risk to macroeconomic stability in early 2012 and the high, but declining, non-performing loans which continues to pose significant challenges to the banking industry.

Mr Terkper said some of the threats included increased net domestic financing, which crowds-out the private sector and puts pressure on interest rates; and the twin deficits that is the overall budget and current account deficits of 12.0 per cent and 12.3 per cent of Goss Domestic Product recorded in the year.