Alex Mould, the Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), has called on government to consider privatizing the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to make its management more efficient. He declared that TOR constitutes a liability rather than an asset to the state and that privatizing it would therefore spare government certain economic risks. Mr Mould made the proposal on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Monday. TOR, Ghana’s only state-run refinery, has been operationally idle since July last year due to a critical equipment breakdown. According to sources, both the main crude distillation unit and the residual fuel catalytic converter of the 45,000 barrels-per-day refinery plant had been shut down due to a lack of funds to replace the changers [a component of the plant] and boilers, which are worn-out. Some citizens have vehemently opposed calls to privatize TOR, arguing that the company will be profitable if its management is depoliticized, but Mr Mould maintains that TOR has been indebted due to inefficient management. He said over the years, TOR has experienced losses and thus will continue to pose a significant threat to government revenues unless steps are taken to control its debt. “Tema Oil Refinery has not made profits since 1996 and as such it is quite clear that government should be out of the business of refining because it is not in to make profits,” he said. Mr Mould also noted that if government wants to run the refinery, then it must do so professionally by injecting a lot of capital to make TOR self sufficient and bring it up to spec. “The refinery is inefficient because of the various problems it has and government will have to spend money as the only shareholder. Government has to decide whether it wants to use its money, whether it wants TOR to borrow or whether it wants a strategic investor to come in and take over.” He stated unequivocally that the problem at TOR is continuous government interference, which he says has turned the refinery into a nonprofit organization. Alex Mould said evidence indicates that the only way to effectively manage TOR is to privatize it. “If we want the refinery to work properly then government has to step aside and let TOR run efficiently. Either it does that or privatize it.”