Contrary to claims made by the ruling National Democratic Congress government to the effect that it has retired Tema Oil Refinery�s debt through the �effective� utilisation of the TOR debt recovery levy, the Managing Director of the Company, Mr Ato Ampiah has claimed otherwise.
In an interview this week on Joy FM, the Chief Executive of the Tema Oil Refinery stated emphatically that problems that have bedevilled the refinery since the NDC assumed the reins of office have been due to the fact that the levy was not applied for the purposes for which it was imposed on petroleum products.
According to the TOR boss, even though the TOR debt recovery levy �is still being charged, somehow it was not applied to the TOR [debt] directly� he stated.
He added that even though the levy was being collected, �our debt was mounting.� The TOR boss concluded by saying that said the refinery�s inability to perform under the Mills-Mahama-Amissah Arthur administration is largely due to lack of funds and the breakdown of equipment at the refinery.
It is recalled that the NDC government on the 29th of March 2011, stated, through a Press Statement issued by the Presidency, that the government has redeemed its pledges to settle its indebtedness to the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) by releasing GH�572 million for the repayment of the balance owed it by the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR).
The Board Chairman of the GCB, at the time, stated that �As I stand here, I can confirm that the government has paid the remaining TOR indebtedness to GCB� he added.
In a bid to save face and that of the NDC government, Energy Minister, Emmanuel Kofi Buah, reacting to the statements made by the boss of TOR, insists the monies accruing from the levy have been used to settle partly, TOR�s debts.
Mr. Buah told Joy FM that �not a dime, as far as I know, of the levy has been applied to anything else but to TOR.�
When he was reminded that the Chief Executive of TOR had stated that the money from the levy had not been made available to the refinery, Mr. Buah said Mr. Ampiah�s statements had been misconstrued.
Meanwhile, some workers of TOR have accused powerful politicians in the current government of deliberately crippling the refinery in order that they will continue to make superfluous profits from importing refined fuel products into the country.
Source: thestatesmanonline.com
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