The Director-General of the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA), John Boadu, has disclosed that the government has taken decisive steps to revitalize the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) by appointing a new board to oversee its management.
Addressing concerns surrounding TOR’s financial woes on JoyNews’ The Probe program on April 14, Boadu highlighted the government’s commitment to restoring the refinery to its former glory.
He emphasized that the appointment of the new board is part of a series of measures aimed at addressing TOR’s challenges.
Boadu acknowledged TOR’s inclusion in the 2021 State Ownership Report, which identified it as one of 10 State-Owned Enterprises incurring losses.
The refinery has reportedly accumulated an average loss of GH₵260.7 million between 2017 and 2021.
In response to this concerning trend, Boadu revealed that the government has intervened by constituting a new board for TOR.
He explained that the board has been empowered to expand its membership from nine to eleven directors, allowing for enhanced oversight and strategic planning.
Furthermore, Boadu urged the newly appointed board to submit detailed plans and programs within a week, highlighting areas where government intervention could be beneficial.
“Government has put in place a new board. I was there on Friday to take them through a resolution to increase the number of their directors from nine to eleven. Because their regulation requires that the maximum should be nine but ordinary resolution can give the mandate for them to increase the number to eleven.
“I have asked them that within a week, they should let me know what their plans and programmes are, and which areas we can also help,” he told host Emefa Apawu.
The former New Patriotic Party (NPP) General Secretary admitted that the government is partly responsible for TOR’s debt situation because it has chosen to politicize issues rather than allow for proper management.
“One thing that sometimes it is difficult discussing, but it is something that we must discuss as a country is that, you have a government having 100% shares in TOR. Prices of products increase in the international market, for the sake of politics [they say] that if they pass it on to the consumer there would be noise, there would be this.”
However, Boadu dismissed speculations regarding TOR’s sale, clarifying that while there were previous attempts at restructuring, the refinery remains under government ownership.