In his written statement captured in the TOR record book, the President, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama revealed that, the impressive return of TOR is evidence of what leadership, vision, talent and strategic partnerships can achieve.
The President made this statement at the commissioning of the refurbished Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), marking the refinery’s return to full operations and describing the milestone as a major step towards strengthening Ghana’s industrial capacity and reducing dependence on imported petroleum products.
“…to the glory of God, a determined management and board, together with dedicated workers and strategic partners, have turned the fortunes of this refinery around,” he said.
President Mahama stressed that the turnaround had been achieved without any financial bailout from the government.
“TOR has achieved all this on its own. The Government of Ghana has not put a single cedi into this rebound,” he stated.
The commissioning ceremony on Saturday, August 1, also marked the successful processing of one million barrels of locally produced Jubilee Field Medium Sweet Crude oil into finished petroleum products, signaling a renewed phase in the operations of TOR.
It is clear from the President’s statement that strategic partnership is a key ingredient that has moved TOR from its then precarious state to the national glory we all now celebrate.
On the back of this achievement, it is imperative for government to embark on an aggressive strategic partnership arrangements or policy initiatives aimed at turning around many other failing or non-performing state-owned entities like Ghana Industrial Holdings Company Ltd ( GIHOC) , Volta Aluminium Company Ltd ( VALCO) , Ghana Heavy Equipment Ltd (GHEL) and Produce Buying Company ( PBC) among others.
The time has come for the government and the country to be honest to itself and move towards forging strategic partnerships aimed at promoting private ownership in fully owned state companies. The focus of government should be growth of these entities and not full control or ownership which yields nothing to the country.
This will allow the state to leverage private capital, diversify risks and attract the required expertise needed to make such entities competitive and profitable for the state.
