The TDC Ghana Limited has embarked on an enforcement exercise to compel companies operating within its acquisition areas, including the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), to settle outstanding ground rents owed to the company.
Mr Courage Nunekpeku, Managing Director of TDC, who led the exercise, told journalists that the payment of ground rent remained a statutory obligation, stressing that no company within the TDC acquisition enclave was exempted from the requirement.
He noted that several firms had accumulated arrears amounting to more than six million Ghana cedis, a situation he described as unacceptable, considering the company’s mandate to drive development within Tema.
“Ground rent payment is not optional. It is a duty that every establishment operating on land under TDC must honour,” he noted, adding that TDC could not develop Tema if those funds were not paid, stressing that the arrears have reached worrying levels; hence, the exercise was aimed at recovering what was due the state.
Mr Nunekpeku indicated that the TDC had already locked up the premises of some defaulting companies, while others quickly made payments to avoid being shut down.
He added that TDC would not hesitate to lock up any facility that failed to comply, saying TDC had a responsibility to ensure orderly development in Tema, and to do so, the company would need the necessary revenue.
The TDC Managing Director also intimated that the arrears, when paid, would greatly support infrastructural expansion and community development projects for the benefit of the entire nation.
He emphasised that Tema’s strategic importance to national economic growth required that all stakeholders played their part in sustaining development efforts.
He, therefore, urged all defaulting companies to promptly engage the TDC and settle their outstanding obligations to avoid disruptions to their operations.
The Ghana News Agency observed that the revenue mobilisation exercise saw heavy security personnel from the Ghana Armed Forces, the Ghana Police Service and the TDC task force, amongst other departmental heads from the company, storming defaulting establishments.
From Isaac Newton Tetteh, Tema
GNA
