Part Of TOR�s Under-Recovery Debt Paid

The government has paid $72 million to settle the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) under recovery debt for 2008, a Deputy Minister of Energy, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, has said.

That he said was to relieve TOR of its huge debt and enable it carry out its duties effectively to meet the demand of Ghanaians.

Briefing the media after a working visit to some agencies under the Ministry of Energy on Sunday June 28, Dr. Donkor said the government would further examine TOR�s debts from 2005 to 2007 before it decided to pay them or not.

He said the government made provisions to pay off TOR�s debt for 2008 in this year�s budget because the new administration was notified of the debt during the transition. Dr. Donkor visited TOR, the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST), the Energy Commission and the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company to acquaint himself with the problems facing the institutions, as well as inform the workers of the government�s vision for those institutions. His first port of call was TOR, where he met the management and staff to discuss the problems facing the refinery.

The deputy minister expressed disappointment with the management of TOR for its inability to collect money from its debtors. According to him, TOR had many security personnel and surveillance cameras but pilfering was rampant in the company. He entreated the management not to sell its products to oil marketing companies on credit, adding that �the refinery is already suffering from financial crises�. He advised the management to be transparent in its activities and address any environmental hazard that the company posed.

He challenged the management and staff to address the company�s problems and work hard to the benefit of Ghanaians �I want to assure you that the government will not (interfere in) your activities but will give your management the freedom to operate on its own,� he said. The deputy minister�s visit to BOST was brought to an abrupt end due to a heavy rainfall. His next port of call from BOST was the Energy Commission, where he met the management and staff of the commission to discuss their problems.

He charged them to formulate policies that would address the inefficient energy supply in the country. He also entreated them to be innovative in policy formulation and make it in the interest of Ghanaians. Dr. Donkor�s last point of call was the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company where he expressed the government�s commitment to uplift the company to where it should be. He said the government would provide logistics and equipment for the company to produce to meet the demands for Ghanaians.

Source: Daily Graphic