Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), Senyo Hosi, says the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has become a money-making machine for politically active individuals.
According to him, the phenomenon has become an albatross on the neck of the state-owned business, affecting its productivity.
"TOR has been the piggy bank for the most politically active people," he told the host of Newsfile, Evans Mensah, on Saturday.
Over the past few years, TOR has been embroiled in debt, product diversion, and cases of petroleum products theft, among other misappropriations.
On October 5, the refinery's Interim Management Committee said it had interdicted some staff for their involvement in the alleged theft of ¢10.4 million worth of cables.
There is also the disappearance of a BDC client’s 105,927 litres of gas oil on September 4, the disappearance of another 18 drums of electrical cables worth ¢10.4 million from the Technical Storehouse of TOR discovered in April 2021, among others.
Three other cases of product losses are also being probed as part of the audit, which includes the loss of Naphtha to a BDC client.
Speaking on Newsfile, the CBOD CEO said he was not surprised by the infractions uncovered at TOR; adding such actions creates a congenial atmosphere for selfish well-connected people to benefit from these leakages.
"People are benefitting from those losses. So once people are benefiting from it, [and] it can only be within a certain class that you would have that," he said.
"All that happens is that they keep coming up with new mechanisms to pay off the debts, and that mechanism is taxing the people more..."
He believes there is has been no serious commitment towards finding a lasting solution to the problem.
"This IMC has done a great job. I'm pleased about the Minister's drive on this particular matter," he added on Saturday.
Senyo Hosi wants stakeholders to engage in an 'honest contribution to safeguard the company's fortunes.
Meanwhile, the Energy Ministry says it will prosecute TOR staff behind the disappearance of the thousands of litres of gas oil and electrical cables if they’re found culpable.
Latest Stories
-
Ashanti Region ECG Workers Union ban 4 general managers from attending REGSEC meetings
20 seconds -
Minority wades into renaming of Ho Technical University after Ephraim Amu
16 mins -
Accra Lions youngster Emmanuel Dzigbah receives meniscus treatment in Serbia
18 mins -
My over $8000 oxygen machine blew up due to dumsor – Joy FM listener narrates harrowing ordeal
30 mins -
Four more persons remanded over Tema-Mpakadan train accident
37 mins -
Bobrisky appeals against six-month sentence
42 mins -
Ashanti West ECG uncovers 74 illegal connections
48 mins -
Assenso-Boakye’s comment that development is dependent on partisan politics worrying – CDD Ghana Fellow
1 hour -
Samira Bawumia lauds Kanéval, others for igniting passion for reading among children
1 hour -
Some supporters of Movement for Change return to NPP
2 hours -
NPP running mate saga: Stop putting pressure on Bawumia – Group tells lobbyists
2 hours -
IES calls for immediate removal of Matthew Opoku Prempeh over deteriorating energy crisis
2 hours -
GFA reschedule selected MD 28 fixtures to ensure maximum support for Dreams FC
2 hours -
A new financing model for SHS will leverage private sector to finance infrastructure – Bawumia to CHASS
2 hours -
Earth Day: CCCFS promotes adoption of ceramics to fight plastic pollution
3 hours