From Edmund Mingle & Eunice Kotoku, Tema.Following raging allegations by workers of the Tema Oil Refinery that some members of management and Ministers of State were involved in deals that have accounted for the Refinery’s inability to secure crude oil supply for operation, President John Evans Atta Mills yesterday declared his intension to have all those allegations investigated.
“Every allegation about TOR is being investigated,” he told a charged assembly of workers during a visit to the Refinery at Tema.
President Mills, who was at the Refinery to familiarize himself with the problems confronting the country’s only crude oil refinery plant, assured the workers that all those found to be engaging in deals that affect the effective operations of TOR would be dealt with, irrespective of the personalities involved.
“No body will get away with any malfeasance,” he stressed.
He observed that “there are a lot of charlatans in the oil business,” but noted that “we are learning fast.”
President Mills, who held a closed door meeting with the management and labour union leaders of TOR before meeting the workers, assured them that the Refinery would soon have crude oil for operations resume.
He said he was also much eager to see TOR have crude oil, adding that “the reason for my visit here is that I want crude oil.”
He urged the workers to exercise patience and restraint in their demands on management, and said that although their demands were “very legitimate,” there was need for decorum and cordiality in the interactions and negotiations between both parties.
“We know the situation is not the best,” he said, but was optimistic that the Refinery would overcome the challenges.
He thanked the workers for boldly voicing out their concerns, which he described as good for the interest of TOR and the nation, adding that the problems of the Refinery would have been solved long ago if the workers had been loud in their concerns in the past.
As part of the meeting, President Mills addressed a number of questions from the workers who spoke passionately and angrily about their concerns ranging from issues about the unavailability of crude oil, poor salary adjustments and allegations of corrupt deals at TOR.
Currently, the Refinery is engulfed in huge debts making it virtually impossible to secure crude from suppliers.
The President’s visit followed a call on Tuesday by the Unionised Petroleum Workers urging the President to intervene to help find a lasting solution to the crude oil problem facing TOR.
In a Resolution passed at a joint Emergency General Meeting by members of the Ghana Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers' Union, and the Professional and Managerial Staff Union of the Union of Industries Commerce and Finance at TOR, they stressed the President's intervention was crucial as series of discussions at different levels between the Union leadership and "the powers that be" had not yielded any positive results..In addition, the resolution pointed out that, "TOR has not been about its core business of refining crude oil, a situation which at various times of the year, led to fuel shortages, with serious implications on trade and commerce at various sectors of the economy, and for that matter, some level of hardships on the Ghanaian populace."The resolution further said the unavailability of crude oil to make the plant run, "has a consequential deterioration on the installations, which will ultimately add to the already huge TOR debt due to cost of maintenance."
Dr. Kwame Ampofo, acting Managing Director of TOR, earlier before the President addressed the workers, informed that the management and labour union leaders reached a number of decisions at the closed door meeting with the President, and said their leaders would inform them of the decisions in due course.
Albert Kojo Pinto, Local Union Chairman declined to disclose the decisions to newsmen after the meeting, but said the Union would hold a staff durbar today to announce the details.
“Every allegation about TOR is being investigated,” he told a charged assembly of workers during a visit to the Refinery at Tema.
President Mills, who was at the Refinery to familiarize himself with the problems confronting the country’s only crude oil refinery plant, assured the workers that all those found to be engaging in deals that affect the effective operations of TOR would be dealt with, irrespective of the personalities involved.
“No body will get away with any malfeasance,” he stressed.
He observed that “there are a lot of charlatans in the oil business,” but noted that “we are learning fast.”
President Mills, who held a closed door meeting with the management and labour union leaders of TOR before meeting the workers, assured them that the Refinery would soon have crude oil for operations resume.
He said he was also much eager to see TOR have crude oil, adding that “the reason for my visit here is that I want crude oil.”
He urged the workers to exercise patience and restraint in their demands on management, and said that although their demands were “very legitimate,” there was need for decorum and cordiality in the interactions and negotiations between both parties.
“We know the situation is not the best,” he said, but was optimistic that the Refinery would overcome the challenges.
He thanked the workers for boldly voicing out their concerns, which he described as good for the interest of TOR and the nation, adding that the problems of the Refinery would have been solved long ago if the workers had been loud in their concerns in the past.
As part of the meeting, President Mills addressed a number of questions from the workers who spoke passionately and angrily about their concerns ranging from issues about the unavailability of crude oil, poor salary adjustments and allegations of corrupt deals at TOR.
Currently, the Refinery is engulfed in huge debts making it virtually impossible to secure crude from suppliers.
The President’s visit followed a call on Tuesday by the Unionised Petroleum Workers urging the President to intervene to help find a lasting solution to the crude oil problem facing TOR.
In a Resolution passed at a joint Emergency General Meeting by members of the Ghana Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers' Union, and the Professional and Managerial Staff Union of the Union of Industries Commerce and Finance at TOR, they stressed the President's intervention was crucial as series of discussions at different levels between the Union leadership and "the powers that be" had not yielded any positive results..In addition, the resolution pointed out that, "TOR has not been about its core business of refining crude oil, a situation which at various times of the year, led to fuel shortages, with serious implications on trade and commerce at various sectors of the economy, and for that matter, some level of hardships on the Ghanaian populace."The resolution further said the unavailability of crude oil to make the plant run, "has a consequential deterioration on the installations, which will ultimately add to the already huge TOR debt due to cost of maintenance."
Dr. Kwame Ampofo, acting Managing Director of TOR, earlier before the President addressed the workers, informed that the management and labour union leaders reached a number of decisions at the closed door meeting with the President, and said their leaders would inform them of the decisions in due course.
Albert Kojo Pinto, Local Union Chairman declined to disclose the decisions to newsmen after the meeting, but said the Union would hold a staff durbar today to announce the details.
