Government has been lauded for reviving the Tema Oil Refinery which has been saddled with operational challenges because of crippling debt and ageing infrastructure.

The Member of Parliament for Dormaa East, Paul Apraku Twum Barimah says President, Nana Akufo-Addo and the Minister of Energy, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh deserves praise for taking the initiative and the bold step to revive TOR.

He believes that TOR is a strategic facility in the oil sector and therefore reviving it will boost the downstream petroleum sector in Ghana.

According to him. Government has taken the responsibility to pay the legacy debt of TOR and changed the entire management of TOR; a move which saw the MD and his deputy being relieved of their posts.

Speaking in an interview with the media, he said the move by the President of Ghana and the Minister of Energy will help bring sanity and calm at TOR and lead to the transformation needed to promote efficient production.

“The energy minister is a man of action who has the political will to revive the operations of TOR with the support of President Akufo Addo. They need the good people of Ghana to support them”, he stressed

The Energy Minister Dr. Opoku Prempeh, sworn a 3-member Interim Management Committee (IMC) into office to oversee the affairs of the TOR as part of efforts to restructure and revamp the refinery.

The Chairman of the 3-member IMC is Nobert Cormla-Djamposu Anku. The other members are Mr. William Ntim Boadu and Mr. Okyere Baffuor Sarpong.

The committee’s terms of reference include ensuring the smooth transfer from the outgone directors, undertake technical and human resource audits as well as receive and assess viable partnerships for TOR, if any.

Mr. Twum Barimah said strategic and tactical plans must be drawn or initiated to guide TOR’s operations from the medium to the long term, adding “the development plan should include appointing a competent, well trained management expert as chief executive of the state firm with a target to turn its fortunes around from the short to medium term and supporting TOR to secure loan to purchase crude oil to refine.”