There is growing resentment by the staff of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) against five of their colleagues and two Board Members for allegedly registering an entity by the name ‘TOR Workers’ Charity Fund’ to confidentially take up shares in the TOR-Torentco deal without the concerns of the over 500 workers.
The TOR Workers’ Charity Trust, according to the peeved workers, was registered on August 29, this year, and they have accused two Board Members, two management staff, two UNICOF executives, and one junior staff of allegedly conniving in registering the fund in a grand scheme to ensure that the controversial TOR-Torentco deal goes through.
The TOR Workers’ Charity Trust, according to the aggrieved workers, was to allegedly aid Torentco Asset Management Limited (TAML), which had been renamed Tema Energy and Processing Limited (TEPL), as the new lessee for the proposed transaction.
Noticing this, the TOR workers expressed surprise that some of their colleagues had joined forces with ‘the proponent’ of the TOR-Torentco deal for their selfish gain.
Armed with the information, the workers, led by some union executives, said they started digging for information to know those behind the formation of the TOR Workers’ Charity Trust.
And to their utter surprise, a search at the Registrar General’s Department, they claimed, allegedly revealed the identity of their own colleagues (names withheld) behind the deal.
Peeved, the workers, led by their leadership, drew the attention of the Ministry of Energy that the TOR Workers’ Charity Trust was the creation of “greedy and selfish elements” and not the creation of the entire workforce.
Given this, the workers said the Energy Ministry, on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, met with the Acting Managing Director of TOR, Mr. Daniel Appiah, and the Executives of the General Transport Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union on the matter.
The workers said after an extensive discussion on the matter, the sector Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, directed them to petition the Management of TOR over the dubious act by their colleagues, and further directed the Acting Managing Director to ensure that the issue was immediately resolved for industrial harmony at the refinery.
On Wednesday morning, October 4, 2023, the TOR workers held a brief crunch meeting to discuss the issue, and addressing the workers the National Chairman of the General Transport Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union, Brother Bernard Owusu, noted that the current board members of TOR were not appointed based on competence. He said their stay had not helped the refinery and urged President Akufo-Addo to change them.
Brother Bernard Owusu said: “The current BOD of TOR is set up not based on competence, but only on political considerations. As a result of this, they have tolerated and wasted our time over an Entity whose incorporated name started with Decimal Capital/VITOL, then changed to Baybridge Asset Management Limited, later to Torentco Asset Management Limited and now Tema Energy and Processing Limited, within 18 months.
“All the changes or evolutions of names are shrouded under the pretence of “a new SPV” to cover one scandal or the other. As responsible citizens and key internal stakeholders of the refinery, who share in the President’s charge for citizenship and not spectators, we bring your (the country’s) attention to the latest development with this particular entity (Torentco Asset Management Limited).
“As it stands now, due to the damming findings of the due diligence report, the surrogate of Torentco, wearing the clothing of TOR BOD, has allowed or tolerated a new SPV by the name Tema Energy and Processing Limited with shares allocation of 40% to CAD Investment Holdings, 40% to Torentco and 20% to TOR Workers Charity Trust.
“This mischievous attempt by these actors, who also double as the board of directors, not only smacks a conflict of interest and inducement of workers, but also an attempt to secretly reward some compromised workers front.
“Fellow Ghanaians, on the blind side of 99% of TOR workers and executive management, some few executives of TOR’s local UNICOF executives have secured an agreement with Torentco to incorporate an entity by guarantee to benefit from a 20% shares in the new SPV (Tema Energy and Processing Limited) without recourse to workers and management.
“In our singular position, if this gesture or decision ticks the prudence, ethical and conflict of interest boxes, shouldn’t it have gone through management for a comprehensive workforce engagement and establishment of the right modalities and structures or this is just a cover-up to reward this section of workers who also double as Torentco surrogates within the refinery.”
