TOR is not for sale – Staff set records straight

The Senior Staff Union of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has stated that the Tema Oil Refinery is not being sold.

According to the Chairman of the Union, Bright Adongo, the government’s move is a lease to a private entity to manage the affairs of the refinery.

He added that once the deal goes through, the refinery will be back to full operation, Ghana’s fuel issues could be addressed whiles securing the jobs of workers at the refinery.

“We need to set the record straight; Tema Oil Refinery is not for sale. It’s a lease agreement we’re entering.

“All these things are happening because TOR should not just run; it must run profitably because it only benefits us when it runs profitably,” he said on Asaase Radio on June 21, 2023.

Adongo added “We know the numbers out there are not correct but at the appropriate time, we’ll put the right numbers out. We can’t go into it now because the discussions are still ongoing.”

The Senior Staff Union of TOR said the lease of the refinery to a Group named Torentco Asset Management is the only viable option for the refinery at this point.

According to them, successive governments have failed to put up measures to bring back the refinery to its full working capacity.

In a statement on June 20, 2023, the group noted that “We consider the yet-to-be finalised arrangements with the selected partner, TORENTCO Asset Management, the only viable option available to bring back the refinery into operation since successive governments are hesitant to inject capital into the operations of the refinery.”

They also emphasized that the deal’s terms allow the country to terminate at any point if any breaches are recorded.

“It is also important to clarify that per the terms of the arrangements, TOR is allowed to terminate the deal at any time and refund the cost of investment to Torentco, if it finds a better alternative during the tenure of the agreement,” it added.

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SSD/MA