The Minister for Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has sworn into office a 3-member Interim Management Committee (IMC) to oversee the affairs of the Tema Oil Refinery as part of efforts to restructure and revamp the refinery.
The Chairman of the 3-member IMC is Mr. Nobert Cormla-Djamposu Anku.
The other members are Mr. William Ntim Boadu and Mr. Okyere Baffuor Sarpong.
The committee’s terms of reference include among others is to ensure the smooth transfer from the outgone directors, undertake technical and human resource audits as well as receive and assess viable partnerships for TOR, if any.
Speaking after the swearing-in at the refinery, Dr. Opoku Prempeh noted that the IMC was key at this time.
“In order to give the President the time to reconstitute the board, which will come very soon, and probably install a new management, there was the need for an IMC to be put in place for at least a period of 3 months. We hope they will be able to gather as much information as possible about TOR and on TOR all in furtherance of making it a viable functional entity going forward.”
The Minister also noted that TOR and its crippling debts, infrastructural issues and equipment have been well noted and that since the 4th Republic every President has thought about value addition to Ghana’s natural resources.
The Public Relations Officer of the ministry, Kwasi Obeng-Fosu in an interview said the Minister of Energy Dr. Prempeh emphasized the need to find the right partnerships, managerial infrastructure and equipment to enable TOR work as a strategic stakeholder in the oil and gas sector and urged the IMC members to be diligent in their work and bring their rich experience to bear in discharging their mandate.
Dr. Prempeh further urged the staff of the refinery to put all past rancours behind them, cooperate with the IMC and work hard to ensure the success of the refinery.
The PRO, Kwasi Obeng-Fosu added that the committee is to submit its report, including findings and recommendations, to the Minister within three (3) months.