The government has redeemed its pledge to settle its indebtedness to the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) by releasing GH¢572million for the repayment of the balance owed it by the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) Mr. Kojo Thompson, Board Chairman of the bank, who made this known, said the amount, which was released a few weeks ago, was the second to be released by the government within two years to settle debts owed to the bank by TOR. "As I stand here, I can confirm that the government has paid the remaining TOR indebtedness to GCB," he added. Mr. Thompson who disclosed this at the banks' Annual General Meeting in Accra on Monday, said with this, the bank's books had been made free to enable it to advance monies to the private sector and individuals who needed it. He said the bank had been the main financier of the country's downstream petroleum sector, especially TOR, and as part of measures to ensure that it operated efficiently; it had engaged the government to find measures of raising funds in order to retire the debt. In March last year, the government made a payment of GH¢445 million to defray part of TOR's debt. This, according to Mr. Thompson, enhanced operations of the bank for the 2010 financial year, with the final payment done, the bank would have the opportunity of looking at other areas to finance. On the financial statements for the year, Mr. Thompson said the bank began the year with a forecast that the global world economy would expand by 4.8 per cent. However, during the first half of the year, economic recovery expanded by 5.25 per cent due to the rise in manufacturing and global trade. He said the bank achieved much improved financial result in 2010 as compared to the previous year, recording a net income of GH¢259.9 million 57 per cent above 2009. He said the GCB extended support to various institutions for various courses in areas such as education, health and sports. Its overall contribution in this regard, was GH¢0.4 million, up by a third from GH¢0.3 million in 2009. He said the bank would continue to reposition itself to take advantage of the opportunities that the government's agenda for stimulating growth for development and job creation offers. Source: Ghanaian Times