Tema Oil Refinery refutes claim by ASEPA

The Tema Oil Refinery and the General Transport Petroleum Chemical Workers Union (GTPCWU) have disputed the claims about the alleged sale of the refinery to a private operator, insisting that no concrete decision has been made.

The Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) last Monday called for clarity in the relations between the operation of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and the Sentuo Oil Refinery.

ASEPA, in a statement issued and signed by its Executive Director, Mensah Thompson, disclosed that on April 4, 2024, they received a whistle-blower alert from an insider within TOR about a meeting between TOR management and the Chinese-owned private oil refinery, Sentuo Oil Refinery Ltd.

ASEPA, in a statement, said the meeting centred on the alleged sale of TOR to the Sentuo Oil Refinery.

TOR, however, dismissed the claim, stating that any information implying otherwise was misleading and should be disregarded.

ASEPA alleged that “the meeting lasted from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., on the premises of TOR, after which there was a large celebration at the Sentuo Oil Refinery Ltd to celebrate the outcome of the supposed meeting.”

ASEPA said it was invoking the Right to Information Law to compel both TOR and the Sentuo Oil Refinery to disclose the nature of their relationship and whether TOR had been outrightly sold to Sentuo or whether Sentuo had assumed management of TOR or not.

“The RTI request would also demand from the management of TOR to disclose to the general public the content of the April 4 meeting between both parties and what the ramifications are for the future of TOR,” it added.

Public Institution

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Thompson emphasised that TOR, as a public institution, had a duty of care to the citizens, therefore, it must ensure that it maintained the highest level of transparency required under Ghanaian law in all its operations and management.

He insisted that ASEPA sources, who were part of the said meeting, told them the alleged sale was part of the issues discussed at the meeting.

Union

The National Chairman of the GTPCWU, Bernard Owusu, in a separate interview, disputed the alleged sale, stressing that no such agreement had been reached.

“It is not true,” Mr Owusu stressed, adding that there was no concrete deal between the two institutions.

“I understand they (Sentuo) passed through the Tema Oil Refinery to familiarise themselves with the activities of the refinery. There is nothing like them coming to take over TOR. I am even surprised why people are saying there is a takeover,” Mr Owusu said.