Gas company to respond to misappropraition queries

THE Ghana National Gas Company (GNCG) is finalising its 2012 accounts to appropriately answer queries raised by the Public Interest Accountability Committee (PIAC) on the issue of misappropriation of GH¢20 million of the company’s operational capital.

The PIAC, in January this year, raised concerns over the GNCG’s inability to account for GH¢20 million of its operational funds released to it by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

The PIAC had, in a letter to the GNCG, requested the company to account for the said amount for publication in its report.

In his response to a questionnaire submitted by the Daily Graphic on the concerns raised by the PIAC, the Head of Corporate Communications at the GNCG, Mr Guure Brown Guure, said the company’s statutory accounts covering the period from January 1 to December 31, 2012 were being finalised for its officials to respond to the issues raised by the PIAC.

According to him, as a result of an administrative lapse, the letter from the PIAC requesting the GNCG to report on the said amount did not get to the appropriate desk.

“We have since traced the request and apologised accordingly to the PIAC, as well as assured it of our preparedness to share our audited accounts with it once the accounts are ready,” Mr Guure said, adding, “The GNCG is, therefore, not able to account for the GH¢20 million capitalisation amount now.”

He said contrary to claims that the amount had been misappropriated, the GNCG had used it to finance the conduct of aerial topographic and geographical studies necessary to map out the general construction area, as well as examine the dynamics of the terrain.

The two studies, he said, encompassed the onshore natural gas pipeline system area made up of a 111-kilometre main pipeline from Atuabo to Ntwaaban and a 75- kilometre lateral pipeline area from Essiama to Prestea.

Mr Guure said the environmental and social impact assessment of the gas processing plant to determine its long-term viability and assess potential risks and impact on the environment and communities in and around the project area to determine the relevant mitigating measures had to be integrated to eliminate such factors.

“Part of the money also went into the funding of construction enabling works along major bridges linking the project site to reinforce the structures to enable line pipes and other heavy equipment to be transported across,” he said.

Asked why the project continued to delay, he stated that some social, environmental and financial reasons, including issues with deities (smaller gods) at the project site, and procedural challenges in advance payments due Sinopec, the main contractor, had accounted for the delay of the project.

“These challenges have so far been resolved and the project is progressing in earnest,” Mr Guure said, adding, “Ghana Gas is, therefore, confident that with the current pace of progress, the project should be completed by the third quarter of this year.”

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Thur, Feb 14, 2013

Ghana’s Energy Ministry - Which direction ?

Energy Minister, Kofi Armah Buah

OVER the past few decades, successive governments have tried to improve the country’s energy sector. 

Millions of cedis have been spent, but little has been achieved.

The problems we face today are testimonies of the inadequacy of legislation and policies and these are the strongest possible signals that Ghana needs to adopt a radical approach to find solutions for the problems in the energy sector.

While admitting that the high capital intensive nature of the sector has contributed to the minimal growth, public sector funding has been inadequate for the maintenance of current systems and the development of new energy sources.

For instance, while infrastructure on electricity generation continues to be dependent on thermal power generation, activities in the petroleum sector are being hampered by the absence of legislation.

The new Petroleum Exploration Law to replace the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Exploration and Production Law, PNDC Law 84 of 1983 is yet to be put in place to take cognisance of current activities, three years into production.

According to Dr Steve Manteaw of the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), while the necessary infrastructure for gas harvesting are still not available, the delay in putting in place the necessary legislation for an effective handling of the sector might end up short-changing the citizenry.

Tema Oil Refinery’s (TOR) role in the economy in the last four years can be described as unsatisfactory, due to the company’s increasing operational cost, making it less competitive.

Many are of the view that while TOR has over the years become a dumping ground for political foot-soldiers and activists, pilfering, stealing and inefficiency can also not be ruled out.

In the view of Dr Manteaw, the refinery’s existence is vital and bottlenecks must be addressed.

While government in December 2012 released $30 million to TOR towards its plant stabilisation process, the challenges facing the refinery may require a capital injection of over $500 million, following the long neglect over the last four years by the sole shareholder.

The capital injection can allow for plant configuration as cost cutting measures, since TOR currently processes Sweet Light Crude oil, which is one of the expensive crudes on the market.

Such measures would require the need to put in place desalters to remove salt and sulphur from the crude oil before processing.

In doing so, Isomerisation and Alkylation plants also need to be considered to improve on the company’s heavy naphtha feed to produce high octane gasoline and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

One other challenge, which is an albatross around the neck of TOR for the last four years, has been its inability to raise letters of credit (LCs) to purchase crude oil.

The period also saw the erratic shutdown of the refinery’s Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracker (RFCC) and Crude Distillation  Units (CDU).

An LC waiver regime that existed between 2001-2008 was withdrawn because of government’s attempts to turn TOR into a tolling facility, while the government hid under the cloak of the infamous TOR debt.

Can government alone take the blame? How about the refinery’s management’s inability to ensure profitability?

Do managers see the need to have in place a proper trading desk where they could monitor and predict the prices of petroleum products within the various trading windows?

With the Ministry of Energy being reviewed to have petroleum as a major component, what defining role will TOR play in this venture?

Will the incoming Minister, Mr Kofi-Armah Buah, who had previously supervised the petroleum sector at the same ministry extend the needed assistance to TOR’s profitability to ensure its competitiveness?

How about processing the Jubilee crude oil, which experts say has the same properties of Bonny or Brent?
President John Mahama on December 4, 2012 promised that his government would put the necessary measures in place to enable TOR operate at full capacity.

Perhaps, government’s decision to release the paltry $30 million could be a result of the President’s campaign promise which came back haunting officials who were variously accused by Ghanaians of attempting to rundown TOR so it could be disposed off.

Beyond the lip service, will the refocussed Ministry of Energy and Petroleum strengthen the energy sector regulation to reflect the market prices being paid by consumers of energy commodities?

What about legislation and legal frameworks that industry players and the general public have been crying for?

With load shedding on the increase and the Bui Dam Project (designed to generate some 400 megawatts of power to augment the country's debilitating energy shortfall) at a standstill, will the Ghanaian consumer see light at the end of the tunnel?

Mr Kofi-Armah Buah, the ball is in your court.

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Wed, Feb 13, 2013

Containers with siezed scrap metals found empty

THIRTY-ONE containers of ferrous scrap metals impounded by the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in March 2012 from being exported illegally have been emptied from the warehouses holding the containers.

The consignments were intercepted in compliance with an administrative ban by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in 2004.

The containers, which were kept under seal on the premises of Everest Limited and Star Limited, both scrap yards in the Tema Heavy Industrial Area, were virtually found empty when Customs officials in the company of members of the Ghana Steel Manufacturers Association went to inspect the consignments last Thursday.

The consignments were auctioned early this year on behalf of the government by the Tema Sector of the Customs Division of the GRA and procured by Special Steel Limited.

Officials of Special Steel and Customs who, on Thursday, visited the two warehouses to inspect the consignments, were, however, left in disbelief as, although the seals on the containers were intact, the containers were virtually empty when they were opened.

A member of the group who spoke to the Daily Graphic on condition of anonymity expressed shock at the turn of events and called on the government to, as a matter of urgency, institute investigations into the incident.

Officials of the Tema Command of the Customs Division who confirmed the incident to the Daily Graphic said the supervising officers of the containers had been tasked to submit a report on the incident.

According to the Public Relations Officer of the command, Ms Nunya Amedonu, the original seal had been confirmed to be intact at the time of the visit on Thursday, with no evidence of tampering.

“The officers who auctioned the containers have been tasked to present a report to the Sector Commander to allow for thorough investigations into the incident,” Ms Amedonu said.

The increasing demand for the exportation of ferrous scrap metals has seen the disruption of underground communication infrastructure and theft of cables (copper wires) in major cities across the country.

While the souring price of the commodity on the world market continues to entice local exporters to engage in the illegality, local steel companies whose production output depends heavily on these raw materials are faced with eminent closure.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry, stunned by the continued exportation, recently directed companies or persons intending to export copper scrap metals from the country to seek clearance from Office of the National Security Coordinator.

However, the absence of a legislative instrument to back the administrative ban on the export continues to spur on the people engaged in the scrap export business.

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Tue, Feb 12, 2013

TOR rehabilitation begins

WORK has begun on the rehabilitation of two key units of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to pave the way for the refinery to resume full-scale operations.

The units are the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) and the Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracker (RFCC).

The project was made possible following the release of $30 million by the government to TOR towards the rehabilitation of its plants.

The release of the funds was in response to appeals made by TOR to the government for $67 million to address challenges at the production units of the refinery.

According to an official source at TOR, the government had assured the refinery that it would release the remaining $37 million by the end of the first quarter of this year for the company to operate efficiently on a sustainable basis.

The company has, since 2009, had major challenges at its major production units, leading to periodic shutdowns which virtually crippled its operations.

The breakdown of equipment at TOR’s utilities department has also affected its generators and steam boilers which are also major components in the production activities of the refinery.

The company had, in 2010, requested $36 million. However, damage to the furnace of the CDU Plant, coupled with damage to the steam boilers and the electricity generation plant, necessitated an increase in the figure to $67 million.

It had also sought to install automatic measuring meters to replace the manual gauging equipment currently being used.

Over the past couple of years, TOR has engaged in significant proxy borrowing to finance its activities and the injection of capital by the government is expected to provide some respite for its operations.

 The source said the maintenance work, which had taken off, would be completed by the end of February.

“We expect to resume normal production work early March, after a four-month inactivity at the CDU and RFCC plants,” it said.

The leaders of TOR’s local union who welcomed the effort after four years of widespread agitation among workers were hopeful the government would commit itself to addressing the challenges.

“We would also expect President John Mahama to keep to the promise he made on December 4, 2012 that the NDC government would put the necessary measures in place to enable TOR to operate at full capacity, as well as ‘complete the retrofitting exercise’,” the Chairman of the TOR Senior Staff Association, Mr Daniel Fugar, told the Daily Graphic.

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Tue, Jan 22, 2013

2 Legon students die in accident

Lordina Fobih, one of the two students involved

TWO female students of the University of Ghana, Legon, died in an accident at Okponglo Junction, near the university in Accra, early yesterday morning when the taxi on which they were travelling collided with a refuse truck at the junction where the amber lights of the six traffic lights were blinking simultaneously.

The blinking of the amber lights meant that drivers should drive cautiously, since any of them could cross the intersection.

The two, Lordina Fobih, 19, and Deborah Akosua-Denkyiraa Benaye, 18, both Level 100 students and residents of the Elizabeth Sey Frances Hall, were said to be returning to the campus around 1:30 a.m. after socialisation when the incident occurred.

Lordina was identified as a daughter of Professor Dominic Fobih, a Minister for Lands, Mines and Forestry in the erstwhile Kufuor administration.

The driver of the taxi, with registration number GE 4707-12, Gilbert Darko, 26, is in critical condition at the 37 Military Hospital.

The bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the 37 Military Hospital mortuary.

When the Daily Graphic visited the scene yesterday afternoon, scores of students and residents of the area had visited the accident scene to see the mangled cab.

The Legon District Police Commander, Chief Supt Frank Anning, who confirmed the accident to the Daily Graphic, said the taxi driver, who was travelling from Bawaleshi towards the university campus, collided with the refuse truck, with registration number GE 645 X, at the traffic intersection which had amber (yellow) on display at the time.

According to Mr Anning, the refuse truck, which was travelling from Madina towards the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange, rammed into the taxi and dragged it along the road to the bus stop near the University of Ghana Sports Complex, killing the two students instantly.

The driver of the refuse truck, Kwaku Ababio, who escaped unhurt, has been arrested by the police pending investigations.

Supt Anning expressed worry at the increasing impatience among motorists, even at night, and cautioned commuters to be extra careful when driving at night to avoid such mishaps.

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Sat, Jan 19, 2013

Late Kamel’s family informs House of his demise

THE family of the late Volta Regional Minister and Member of Parliament for Buem, Henry Ford Kamel, has formally informed the leadership of Parliament of his demise.

The delegation, led by Nana Barima Kumessey, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Jasikan, also officially informed the leadership of Parliament that the late MP would be buried at Bueman, his home town, on February 23, 2013.

According to Nana Kumessey, custom demanded that the family inform Parliament, where Kamel had been re-elected to before his sudden death.

The Minority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, for his part, said the late Kamel was a personification of a gentleness, adding that “good things don’t last”.

He said the House was prepared to support the family in any way to ensure that their late colleague was given a fitting burial.

The Majority Leader, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, said he was devastated when he heard the shocking news of Kamel’s death, noting that, “This is a shared loss.”

He urged the family to accept with courage what had happened and also accept the challenges of the loss, since Kamel contributed immensely to the country’s development in diverse ways.

The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, said he was short of words, since the late MP had been more of a brother to him.

He said he and the MP had been encouraging each other in their parliamentary work, saying the deceased was one of the finest politicians the Volta Region ever produced.

The Speaker described Kamel as a team player and unifier who had been able to bring the various interest groups in the Volta Region together for its rapid development.

He said the House would work closely with the family to give him a fitting burial, since he was a statesman and astute politician.

SOURCE: Daily Graphic, Fri, Jan 11, 2013

Parliament denies reports on intended strike

THE Leadership of Parliament has denied media reports that they intended to go on strike over unpaid emoluments.

They have therefore urged the media to be circumspect in their reportage of proceedings in Parliament.

Addressing a joint news conference called by the leadership of house in Accra today, Dr. Benjamin Kunbuor and Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said the press conference was occasioned by a misreportage of an intervention made by the Member of Parliament  (MP) for Old Tafo, Dr Anthony Osie-Akoto on the floor of house last Tuesday.

Dr Osei-Akoto in making a contribution had said that members would not be encouraged to attend parliamentary sittings when their outstanding allowances in the previous parliament remained unpaid.

That they said was, however, misreported by sections of the media that MPs had resolved to go on strike to back up their demands for unpaid allowances.

The Minority Leader, in reacting to the said report, indicated that there may be occasional slips which were part of human nature.

Mr Mensah-Bonsu , however, said that the media ought to focus on principal issues to fashion out national cohesion and development.

"Innocuous matters may crop up, but let us all be in the same boat together to deal with the big issues and not be distracted by minor sidekicks,"Mr Mensah-Bonsu said.

He also said that issues relating to parliament as an institution needed to be vetted appropriately by the media before being put out.

The Majority Leader, Dr. Kunbuor for his part, said that it was very early in the day in the life of the Sixth Parliament for such unhealthy publications to be making rounds.

That, Dr Kunbuor, said would go to create a negative perception in the minds of the public that Members of Parliament were not necessarily in the House to serve the interest of the people.

He also cautioned politicians and members of the House to desist from engaging the press for their parochial interests.

Dr Kunbour called for another level of engagement with the press to focus on larger national interest.
He assured of the leadership and members co-operation to building networks that would positively project Parliament to the general society that they represent.

The Director of Public Affairs of Parliament, Mr Jones Kugblenu wondered why the Sixth Parliament would boycott proceedings because emoluments of the Fifth Parliament which had ceased to exist had not been paid.

"Although most members of the previous parliament have returned to the House, the issue of payments of benefits are being formalised and could therefore not be an obstacle in the business of the current parliament," Mr Kugblenu said.

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Fri, Jan 11, 2013