The Public Relations Officer for the Energy Ministry, Kwasi Obeng Fosu says staff members of the Tema Oil Refinery indicted in the interim management committee’s report investigating the company’s losses are likely to face prosecution.

According to him, the committee set up by the Energy Minister will put the report before the President after which the legal consequences will follow.

“You cannot misappropriate public funds and issues of such nature and then be handled with any other way apart from the legal means. So whoever is involved will be handed over to the appropriate institutions to handle, investigate and if there is a need for prosecution it will be done,” Mr Fosu told Evans Mensah on JoyFM’s Top Story.

He added that although the Interim Management Committee (IMC) is yet to conclude investigations, it is the ministry’s hope that the results would be best for everyone involved especially if the funds lost could be retrieved.

However, “should that not happen and we should realise that some neck-deep are actually condoning and conniving with others to make these losses, the mandate of the committee is to hand their findings over to the minister, for onward submission to the presidency, and these legal issues will go to the court and the court will decide,” Mr Fosu said.

His comment comes after the Interim Management Committee of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) says it has interdicted some staff for their involvement in the alleged theft of ¢10.4 million worth of cables.

Describing it as unacceptable product losses, TOR said the thievery was discovered as a result of Technical and Human Resource audits.

The audit was also geared towards resolving the refinery’s consistent product and financial losses to enable TOR to meet its full potential.

The Interim Management explained that the affected staff “who hold various positions of responsibility and accountability concerning the transfer of products have been queried and interdicted pending the outcome of investigations.”

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), Senyo Hosi says the product loss at Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) is the tip of the iceberg.

Also speaking on Top Story, he said the issue of product disappearance is nothing new as it has been happening almost every time in government spaces.

He added that the refinery has been reporting about products not being accounted for.

“We have quite an interesting industry capable of running down an economy so I am not (shocked) at all. What you see the IMC doing is a remarkable job. This has been happening almost every time and you see these happening in mainly the government-owned facilities.”