A renowned Ghanaian Economist, Kwame Pianim has endorsed the reported privatization of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR); saying it is a major way forward to Ghana�s economic development.
Mr. Pianim intimated in an interview with Citi FM that the reported privatization of the Refinery is long overdue as it would engender competition in the wake of the emerging oil industry.
Some sections of the media on Thursday, September 24, reported that the government has initiated plans to privatize the refinery.
The government has however denied the reports saying it is a distortion of the reality.
Mr. Pianim�s call comes against the backdrop of the refinery�s 680 million dollar debt which ECOBANK Development Coporation is presently arranging to syndicate a 300 million dollar facility to finance it.
The ace Economist contends that the refinery is commercially viable and that it should be privatized as soon as possible to prevent it from undermining public sector financing.
�Tema oil refinery can be commercially viable. Why is it a government run thing? They should be privatized and if they are not doing a good job, the private sector should be able to set up and compete with them.� He said
He added that other state-owned companies like the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) and Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) should also be privatized to compete with the emerging banks to ensure efficiency.
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