THE Tema Regional Police Command, in a joint operation with the military last Wednesday, arrested five land guards from the Adjei-Kojo, Gbetsile and Zenu enclaves, following complaints of harassment from residents and new developers.
Three motorbikes have been impounded and the police believe two of them which were unregistered, were used by the guards in their operations. The other one had a number plate bearing registration number GE 8620 Z.
One locally manufactured pistol, two machetes, a saw, a pair of large scissors and a military camouflage uniform were also retrieve from them.
A large quantity of leaves believed to be Indian hemp in plastic and cement paper bags were also seized from them.
The suspects are Louise Asare, 28; Kofi Salifu, 35; Abraham Kwetey Masimey, 25; Degbey Vedoh, 24; and Abdulai Sakibu, 24.
According to the Tema Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr Augustine Gyenning, the police had mounted a search for one T.T, whose name constantly came up in several criminal cases but had managed to escape arrest.
He has, therefore, appealed to the public to report his whereabouts to the police.
Mr Gyenning said based on over 18 complaints from residents and developers, the police, in conjunction with the military, went into the bushes with the aim of tracking down the terrorist gangs during which they found a kiosk mounted on a short wall hidden in the bush.
He said while the police and the military were surveying the area, the armed gangsters saw them from an outpost, which they had mounted to enable them to see any intruder in their territory.
Mr Gyenning said as the police and the military approached, the criminals fled into the bush but the five were arrested.
A search in the kiosk revealed the dangerous implements and the wrapped and bagged leaves suspected to be Indian hemp. The motorbikes were found hidden in the bush.
He said the structure serving as the criminals’ hideout had been burnt down.
Mr Gyenning cautioned chiefs who use people to harass developers to satisfy their litigious desires to desist from that.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
LPG SHORTAGE HITS TEMA (NOV 21, PAGE 18)
Shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has hit Tema and its surrounding communities.
The situation, which has culminated in long queues at various lorry stations in the metropolis, has also made commercial activities difficult.
A visit to various fuel vending stations within the metropolis saw ‘NO GAS’ signposts mounted at various sales points.
Commercial drivers have taken advantage of the shortage and are charging commuters exorbitant transport fares.
It took this reporter two hours to fill a gas cylinder on Monday evening, after she had travelled from Tema to Afienya in the Dangme East District of the Greater Accra Region.
Commercial drivers interviewed at the Galaxy Filling Station at Afienya said they had travelled from neighbouring Ashaiman, Tema, Akosombo and Juapong to Afienya to purchase fuel owing to the shortage of the product in those communities.
Daily Graphic sources at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) revealed that the restrictions imposed on the refinery by Ecobank Ghana Limited, which had guaranteed the letters of credit (LCs) to the refinery in October, might have accounted for the shortage of fuel in the system, as finished products from the 999,000 barrels of crude oil were locked up in various storage facilities at the refinery.
It attributed the shortage to the contractual agreements signed between TOR and Ecobank last October which bound TOR, as the receiving agency of the LCs, to ensure that all the money owed it by oil marketing companies (OMCs) was paid before they were allowed to lift products.
Officials of TOR, who had earlier agreed to talk to this reporter, refused to comment on the shortage when they were later contacted.
The situation, which has culminated in long queues at various lorry stations in the metropolis, has also made commercial activities difficult.
A visit to various fuel vending stations within the metropolis saw ‘NO GAS’ signposts mounted at various sales points.
Commercial drivers have taken advantage of the shortage and are charging commuters exorbitant transport fares.
It took this reporter two hours to fill a gas cylinder on Monday evening, after she had travelled from Tema to Afienya in the Dangme East District of the Greater Accra Region.
Commercial drivers interviewed at the Galaxy Filling Station at Afienya said they had travelled from neighbouring Ashaiman, Tema, Akosombo and Juapong to Afienya to purchase fuel owing to the shortage of the product in those communities.
Daily Graphic sources at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) revealed that the restrictions imposed on the refinery by Ecobank Ghana Limited, which had guaranteed the letters of credit (LCs) to the refinery in October, might have accounted for the shortage of fuel in the system, as finished products from the 999,000 barrels of crude oil were locked up in various storage facilities at the refinery.
It attributed the shortage to the contractual agreements signed between TOR and Ecobank last October which bound TOR, as the receiving agency of the LCs, to ensure that all the money owed it by oil marketing companies (OMCs) was paid before they were allowed to lift products.
Officials of TOR, who had earlier agreed to talk to this reporter, refused to comment on the shortage when they were later contacted.
CENTRAL, WESTERN REGIONS EXPORTERS TOUR TEMA PORT (PAGE 18, NOV 21)
EXPORTERS of local products from the Central and Western regions have toured the Tema Port to familiarise themselves with and ascertain the processes and documentation which their goods go through before shipment.
The exporters belong to the Western and Central Regional Shipper committees under the umbrella of the Ghana Shippers Council.
Those from the Central Region export citrus to places including the Far East, the Middle East and India, while those from the Western Region export varieties of agricultural produce and minerals, including cocoa, manganese and bauxite.
The tour took them to the various terminals of loading and discharging where they saw how cargo and containers were handled.
At the Golden Jubilee Terminal, the Operations Manager, Mr Nii Amasa, took the exporters through processes of documentation, noting that the Jubilee Terminal was solely for the devanning of containers which had items belonging to groups of people.
He stated that the port now operated on electronic systems and, therefore, had not had cases of misplaced cargo nor delay in the clearance of cargo.
Nii Amasa explained that documents were received electronically and processed before the arrival of containers.
He said between 3,500 and 4,000 containers were processed monthly at the terminal for clearing, adding that the terminal had challenges of fraudulent documentation and forged signatures in the clearing of goods but he was emphatic that those involved had not succeeded in their deals.
The Chairman of the Western Regional Shipper Committee, Mr Robert Huedelu, in an interview, appealed to the government to seriously consider revamping the country's railway system to cut down on cost of transportation and also save the road network from further deterioration.
He was optimistic that the rail system would boost transit trade as well.
The Chairman of the Central Regional Shipper Committee, Opanyin Kwame Tenadu, said members sometimes had difficulty in logging on to the GCnet.
He stated that the use of the GCnet was also to help in monitoring the arrival of vessels and documentation.
He urged the various divisions at the port to ensure that the Gcnet worked effectively to help smoothen the sea trade.
He noted that the tour had been a healthy approach to make the exporters have first-hand information on the operations at the port and commended the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority for improving the facilities at the port.
The Head of the Shipper Services Department of the Ghana Shippers Council, Mrs Sylvia Asana Owu, explained that the exporters needed to be well informed to be able to understand the operations at the port.
The exporters belong to the Western and Central Regional Shipper committees under the umbrella of the Ghana Shippers Council.
Those from the Central Region export citrus to places including the Far East, the Middle East and India, while those from the Western Region export varieties of agricultural produce and minerals, including cocoa, manganese and bauxite.
The tour took them to the various terminals of loading and discharging where they saw how cargo and containers were handled.
At the Golden Jubilee Terminal, the Operations Manager, Mr Nii Amasa, took the exporters through processes of documentation, noting that the Jubilee Terminal was solely for the devanning of containers which had items belonging to groups of people.
He stated that the port now operated on electronic systems and, therefore, had not had cases of misplaced cargo nor delay in the clearance of cargo.
Nii Amasa explained that documents were received electronically and processed before the arrival of containers.
He said between 3,500 and 4,000 containers were processed monthly at the terminal for clearing, adding that the terminal had challenges of fraudulent documentation and forged signatures in the clearing of goods but he was emphatic that those involved had not succeeded in their deals.
The Chairman of the Western Regional Shipper Committee, Mr Robert Huedelu, in an interview, appealed to the government to seriously consider revamping the country's railway system to cut down on cost of transportation and also save the road network from further deterioration.
He was optimistic that the rail system would boost transit trade as well.
The Chairman of the Central Regional Shipper Committee, Opanyin Kwame Tenadu, said members sometimes had difficulty in logging on to the GCnet.
He stated that the use of the GCnet was also to help in monitoring the arrival of vessels and documentation.
He urged the various divisions at the port to ensure that the Gcnet worked effectively to help smoothen the sea trade.
He noted that the tour had been a healthy approach to make the exporters have first-hand information on the operations at the port and commended the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority for improving the facilities at the port.
The Head of the Shipper Services Department of the Ghana Shippers Council, Mrs Sylvia Asana Owu, explained that the exporters needed to be well informed to be able to understand the operations at the port.
NPP'S LOSS OF POWEER NATIONAL TRAGEDY — PROF OCQUAYE (PAGE 14, NOV 21)
THE New Patrotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya and Second Deputy Speaker, Professor Mike Oquaye, has described the party’s loss of the last general election as a tragedy that has befallen the country.
Prof. Oquaye made the remarks at the launch of Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe’s campaign for the position of Greater Accra Regional Chairman in Ashaiman.
He described the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government as propagandist and one whose ideals and beliefs lay in the propagation of falsehoods that caused disaffection for their opponents.
Continuing, he foretold the demise of the NDC party in the next three years and appealed to NPP delegates to rally behind Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe to ensure a resounding victory for the NPP in the 2012 general elections.
When Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe mounted the platform, he told the teeming party supporters that he chose Ashaiman for the launch of his campaign because of its cosmopolitan nature.
He indicated that the 2012 general election would be a ‘guerilla war’ which needed a dynamic and strong-willed person like him to match the ruling party.
He cautioned that the NPP would not hesitate to quadruple its efforts to get back at the ruling party.
An aid to the ex-Serbian envoy, Titus Glover-Quartey, noted that a resounding victory for Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe would ensure the demise of intimidation in the country’s politics.
Former Finance Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo, said the NPP ‘s first victory in the 2000 general election was a divine act by God that saw Ghanaians being liberated from slavery.
He appealed to delegates to massively rally behind the retired soldier and medical doctor in order to turn the fortunes of the party around, come 2012.
Prof. Oquaye made the remarks at the launch of Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe’s campaign for the position of Greater Accra Regional Chairman in Ashaiman.
He described the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government as propagandist and one whose ideals and beliefs lay in the propagation of falsehoods that caused disaffection for their opponents.
Continuing, he foretold the demise of the NDC party in the next three years and appealed to NPP delegates to rally behind Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe to ensure a resounding victory for the NPP in the 2012 general elections.
When Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe mounted the platform, he told the teeming party supporters that he chose Ashaiman for the launch of his campaign because of its cosmopolitan nature.
He indicated that the 2012 general election would be a ‘guerilla war’ which needed a dynamic and strong-willed person like him to match the ruling party.
He cautioned that the NPP would not hesitate to quadruple its efforts to get back at the ruling party.
An aid to the ex-Serbian envoy, Titus Glover-Quartey, noted that a resounding victory for Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe would ensure the demise of intimidation in the country’s politics.
Former Finance Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo, said the NPP ‘s first victory in the 2000 general election was a divine act by God that saw Ghanaians being liberated from slavery.
He appealed to delegates to massively rally behind the retired soldier and medical doctor in order to turn the fortunes of the party around, come 2012.
SUSPEND TEMA WEST NPP POLLS — MAC-MANU (PAGE 3, NOV 21)
THE National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Peter Mac Manu, has ordered executives of the Tema West Constituency branch of the party to suspend all activities relating to the constituency elections until the national office finds lasting solutions to the fracas within the rank and file.
He was speaking in a telephone interview with the Daily Graphic in reaction to news that arrangements were in place for the constituency elections to be held tomorrow.
Mr Mac Manu said the issue of the disputed polling station elections held in September had been referred to the party’s election committee and that even though some meetings had been held with the various parties in the dispute, a ruling was yet to be made on the matter.
“It is, therefore, wrong and improper for any party to take the law into its own hands and run an election of any kind,” he stressed.
The Tema West Constituency witnessed various forms of controversy during the election of polling station executives, leading to aggrieved members pointing accusing fingers at the Chairman, Mr Paul Sampana-Azure, and the MP for the area, Ms Irene Naa Torshie Addo, whom they accused of subverting the process by intimidating members into accepting their selected persons, instead of electing persons using the laid down modalities.
This resulted in a member of the NPP taking the matter to court to seek reliefs, among others, to declare null and void the polling station elections.
It is learnt that aggrieved members, who pleaded anonymity, have vowed to disrupt activities should the MP and the chairman, as well as their allied bodies, continue with their plans to hold the elections.
He was speaking in a telephone interview with the Daily Graphic in reaction to news that arrangements were in place for the constituency elections to be held tomorrow.
Mr Mac Manu said the issue of the disputed polling station elections held in September had been referred to the party’s election committee and that even though some meetings had been held with the various parties in the dispute, a ruling was yet to be made on the matter.
“It is, therefore, wrong and improper for any party to take the law into its own hands and run an election of any kind,” he stressed.
The Tema West Constituency witnessed various forms of controversy during the election of polling station executives, leading to aggrieved members pointing accusing fingers at the Chairman, Mr Paul Sampana-Azure, and the MP for the area, Ms Irene Naa Torshie Addo, whom they accused of subverting the process by intimidating members into accepting their selected persons, instead of electing persons using the laid down modalities.
This resulted in a member of the NPP taking the matter to court to seek reliefs, among others, to declare null and void the polling station elections.
It is learnt that aggrieved members, who pleaded anonymity, have vowed to disrupt activities should the MP and the chairman, as well as their allied bodies, continue with their plans to hold the elections.
Friday, November 20, 2009
BREAKTHROUGH...Ghanaian invents condom dispensing machine (MIRROR, LEAD STORY, NOV 21)
By Della Russel Ocloo
AN embarrassing situation which occurred while buying a condom from a pharmacy some 10 years ago sowed the seed in Mr Prince Nkrumah as to how such situations could be avoided in future.
His experience, coupled with a research finding he chanced upon that states that 66 per cent of men and 60 per cent of women report some level of embarrassment when buying condoms resulted in the invention of the condom dispensing machine.
Given the rate at which the human resources of nations are decimated by STDs, one would expect that purchasing condoms would be viewed as desirable.
The said research also indicates that 80 per cent of those who said they were embarrassed noted that being spotted at the cashier was more intimidating than being seen in the display area.
Interestingly, this embarrassment is not unique to students and singles but cut across to married couples as well giving an indication that fewer people use condoms even though sensitisation on the spread of STDs is on the increase.
It would, therefore, be a very effective health strategy to develop mechanisms that can make the purchase of condoms a non-embarrassing one, and the most convenient method is to use an automatic vending machine.
His quest to find a solution to this dilemma resulted in the invention of a condom vending machine which dispenses condom when a text message is sent to a short code on the MTN network.
The new technology known as ‘Mobivend’, according to Mr Nkrumah, is to save people from embarrassing situations they encounter daily in their quest to purchase the product at sales points.
The machine which could be mounted at washrooms in hotels, night clubs, drinking spots, educational institutions, fun parks amongst other places, according to him, is to afford people the opportunity to be at ease during purchase of the product as well as complement the Ghana Aids Commission’s efforts in the fight against the deadly HIV/AIDs and its related sexually transmitted diseases.
The machine which is the first of its kind in the world has several advantages over other existing systems which dispense soft drinks in other countries across the globe. It can carry a total of 150-250 packs of condoms at a time.
The device which comes with a cashless system to discourage vandalism among users also has functions which allow the system to automatically adjust prices in the event of increase in prices of goods and commodities as well as send inventory status to managers for an efficient and monitoring system.
Forty-one-year old Prince Nkrumah, who is also a lecturer in communication engineering and computer aided systems (CAD) at the Regional Maritime University (RMU) had his early education at the Datus Complex and Naval Base experimental basic schools all in Tema.
He proceeded to Ghana Secondary Technical School in Takoradi for his Advance and Ordinary level certificates from 1982-89 and thereafter entered the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in 1991 where he studied a Bachelor of Science (BSc) programme in electrical engineering majoring in telecommunication engineering.
After a year’s national service with the then Ghana Telecom, Mr Nkrumah was employed as a data communication engineer at Reiss Information Systems.
After a year’s service to Reiss, he joined the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) in 1997 and worked there for nine years as a computer network administrator.
He told The Mirror, his challenging experience at VALCO was when he led a group of information technology (IT) personnel to develop a system that saw successful change of the company’s email systems (the word perfect systems) they were using at that time to the Microsoft Exchange which was being deployed by a few multi-national corporations in the country at that time.
The old system, according to him, often fails to deliver the needed information for production when a lot of people are logged on.
“The task was challenging as it involves rolling the old system into the new exchange which needs a tactical approach to ensure old mails do not get lost during the transition period as it may affect production works in the plant”, he remarked.
The installation of the new system therefore offered an added advantage to staff to access mails outside the office as well as work from remote locations in the country.
Following a redeployment exercise at the plant due to its dwindling fortunes, he resigned in December 2008 to concentrate on the activities of a consultancy he set up in 1997.
The firm, Princetronics Engineering, has over the years been providing services in the areas of networking and email message systems to the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Tema Development Corporation, Alpha Wireless and Tema Tuna Ventures among other companies.
The shy-looking Mr Nkrumah, who also holds a post graduate diploma in Telecommunications from the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI), was born on March 16, 1968 at Takoradi in the Western Region to Mr William Johnson Nkrumah, a retired naval officer from Jamasi in the Ashanti Region and Ms Eleanor McCarthy a native of Cape Coast.
Mr Nkrumah, who is also a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, is married to Genevieve, a trained teacher with whom he has two children namely, Princess, eight, (who is schooling in the United States of America) and four-year-old Phoebe Nkrumah.
AN embarrassing situation which occurred while buying a condom from a pharmacy some 10 years ago sowed the seed in Mr Prince Nkrumah as to how such situations could be avoided in future.
His experience, coupled with a research finding he chanced upon that states that 66 per cent of men and 60 per cent of women report some level of embarrassment when buying condoms resulted in the invention of the condom dispensing machine.
Given the rate at which the human resources of nations are decimated by STDs, one would expect that purchasing condoms would be viewed as desirable.
The said research also indicates that 80 per cent of those who said they were embarrassed noted that being spotted at the cashier was more intimidating than being seen in the display area.
Interestingly, this embarrassment is not unique to students and singles but cut across to married couples as well giving an indication that fewer people use condoms even though sensitisation on the spread of STDs is on the increase.
It would, therefore, be a very effective health strategy to develop mechanisms that can make the purchase of condoms a non-embarrassing one, and the most convenient method is to use an automatic vending machine.
His quest to find a solution to this dilemma resulted in the invention of a condom vending machine which dispenses condom when a text message is sent to a short code on the MTN network.
The new technology known as ‘Mobivend’, according to Mr Nkrumah, is to save people from embarrassing situations they encounter daily in their quest to purchase the product at sales points.
The machine which could be mounted at washrooms in hotels, night clubs, drinking spots, educational institutions, fun parks amongst other places, according to him, is to afford people the opportunity to be at ease during purchase of the product as well as complement the Ghana Aids Commission’s efforts in the fight against the deadly HIV/AIDs and its related sexually transmitted diseases.
The machine which is the first of its kind in the world has several advantages over other existing systems which dispense soft drinks in other countries across the globe. It can carry a total of 150-250 packs of condoms at a time.
The device which comes with a cashless system to discourage vandalism among users also has functions which allow the system to automatically adjust prices in the event of increase in prices of goods and commodities as well as send inventory status to managers for an efficient and monitoring system.
Forty-one-year old Prince Nkrumah, who is also a lecturer in communication engineering and computer aided systems (CAD) at the Regional Maritime University (RMU) had his early education at the Datus Complex and Naval Base experimental basic schools all in Tema.
He proceeded to Ghana Secondary Technical School in Takoradi for his Advance and Ordinary level certificates from 1982-89 and thereafter entered the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in 1991 where he studied a Bachelor of Science (BSc) programme in electrical engineering majoring in telecommunication engineering.
After a year’s national service with the then Ghana Telecom, Mr Nkrumah was employed as a data communication engineer at Reiss Information Systems.
After a year’s service to Reiss, he joined the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) in 1997 and worked there for nine years as a computer network administrator.
He told The Mirror, his challenging experience at VALCO was when he led a group of information technology (IT) personnel to develop a system that saw successful change of the company’s email systems (the word perfect systems) they were using at that time to the Microsoft Exchange which was being deployed by a few multi-national corporations in the country at that time.
The old system, according to him, often fails to deliver the needed information for production when a lot of people are logged on.
“The task was challenging as it involves rolling the old system into the new exchange which needs a tactical approach to ensure old mails do not get lost during the transition period as it may affect production works in the plant”, he remarked.
The installation of the new system therefore offered an added advantage to staff to access mails outside the office as well as work from remote locations in the country.
Following a redeployment exercise at the plant due to its dwindling fortunes, he resigned in December 2008 to concentrate on the activities of a consultancy he set up in 1997.
The firm, Princetronics Engineering, has over the years been providing services in the areas of networking and email message systems to the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Tema Development Corporation, Alpha Wireless and Tema Tuna Ventures among other companies.
The shy-looking Mr Nkrumah, who also holds a post graduate diploma in Telecommunications from the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI), was born on March 16, 1968 at Takoradi in the Western Region to Mr William Johnson Nkrumah, a retired naval officer from Jamasi in the Ashanti Region and Ms Eleanor McCarthy a native of Cape Coast.
Mr Nkrumah, who is also a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, is married to Genevieve, a trained teacher with whom he has two children namely, Princess, eight, (who is schooling in the United States of America) and four-year-old Phoebe Nkrumah.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
ECOBANK BARS TOR (PAGE 3, NOV 17)
THE various finished products obtained from the 997,000 barrels of crude oil are stocked in various storage facilities at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), following restrictions imposed on the refinery by Ecobank Ghana Limited which guaranteed the purchase of the oil from a Nigerian company.
The restrictions by Ecobank are meant to ensure that it recoups its money from TOR.
TOR’s indebtedness to the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) to the tune of $600 million, which almost saw the bank on the verge of bankruptcy, may have informed Ecobank’s decision to streamline measures to enable it to retrieve the money invested in the oil transaction.
Last October, Ecobank established letters of credit (LCs) amounting to $74 million to enable TOR to take delivery of crude oil from Sahara Energy, a Nigerian oil lifting company.
A source at TOR told the Daily Graphic that the refinery, as a receiving agency of the LCs, was bound by conditions on the LCs to ensure that all the money owed it by oil marketing companies (OMCs) was paid before allowing them to lift fuel.
The source also hinted that out of the over 49 OMCs that lifted products from the refinery, 43 still owed TOR huge debts.
According to the source, officials of Ecobank believed the huge indebtedness of the OMCs could jeopardise TOR’s interest and investment if the refinery allowed the companies to continue to lift products.
It further noted that some OMCs, such Total, Goil and Shell, did not need any form of guarantee to lift products, since they were multinational companies and could be easily located, while the likes of Allied Oil, Galaxy and Top Oil were the only entities whose credit levels guaranteed them to continually lift products.
Attempts to reach the acting Managing Director of TOR, Dr Kwame Ampofo, for his comments on the said regulations failed as several calls to his telephone were not answered.
For a greater part of the year, TOR virtually closed down its operations following the acute shortage of crude oil.
The desperate situation was precipitated partly by the huge debts owed by TOR to crude supplying agencies and the GCB.
The government gave the refinery a lifeline when it intervened, leading to a deal with Ecobank for a guarantee of LCs to enable TOR to take delivery of crude oil imported into the country by Sahara Energy.
The restrictions by Ecobank are meant to ensure that it recoups its money from TOR.
TOR’s indebtedness to the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) to the tune of $600 million, which almost saw the bank on the verge of bankruptcy, may have informed Ecobank’s decision to streamline measures to enable it to retrieve the money invested in the oil transaction.
Last October, Ecobank established letters of credit (LCs) amounting to $74 million to enable TOR to take delivery of crude oil from Sahara Energy, a Nigerian oil lifting company.
A source at TOR told the Daily Graphic that the refinery, as a receiving agency of the LCs, was bound by conditions on the LCs to ensure that all the money owed it by oil marketing companies (OMCs) was paid before allowing them to lift fuel.
The source also hinted that out of the over 49 OMCs that lifted products from the refinery, 43 still owed TOR huge debts.
According to the source, officials of Ecobank believed the huge indebtedness of the OMCs could jeopardise TOR’s interest and investment if the refinery allowed the companies to continue to lift products.
It further noted that some OMCs, such Total, Goil and Shell, did not need any form of guarantee to lift products, since they were multinational companies and could be easily located, while the likes of Allied Oil, Galaxy and Top Oil were the only entities whose credit levels guaranteed them to continually lift products.
Attempts to reach the acting Managing Director of TOR, Dr Kwame Ampofo, for his comments on the said regulations failed as several calls to his telephone were not answered.
For a greater part of the year, TOR virtually closed down its operations following the acute shortage of crude oil.
The desperate situation was precipitated partly by the huge debts owed by TOR to crude supplying agencies and the GCB.
The government gave the refinery a lifeline when it intervened, leading to a deal with Ecobank for a guarantee of LCs to enable TOR to take delivery of crude oil imported into the country by Sahara Energy.
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