The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has ordered management of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to suspend its proposed partnership with Tema Energy and Processing Limited.
The directive according to the OSP is based on a corruption risk analysis which the office has commenced into the deal.
This was contained in a letter dated November 21, 2023, signed by the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng and addressed to the Managing Director of TOR, Daniel Osei Appiah.
“You are directed to immediately suspend the proposed partnership agreement, ongoing negotiations, operations and all other ancillary activities arising out of and consequent upon the proposed partnership agreement until you are otherwise advised by the Special Prosecutor,” portions of the letter read.
Meanwhile, the OSP has directed TOR to furnish with all the necessary documentation regarding the proposed agreement on or before the close of Tuesday, December 5, 2023.
The Special Prosecutor was petitioned to investigate the lease agreement between the Tema Oil Refinery and Torentco Asset Management Limited by the General Transport, Petroleum, and Chemical Workers Union of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) Ghana.
The Union, in a petition dated October 19, 2023, said, "We wish to request that your highly esteemed office investigate and intervene in the ongoing lease arrangement of Tema Oil Refinery to Torentco Asset Management Limited, now Tema Energy and Processing Limited, with the same individuals involved."
The Transport Workers Union believes "the actions of the individuals behind Tema Energy and Processing Limited seek to induce workers of TOR with 20% of its shares through misrepresentation of workers in an entity by the name "TOR Workers Charity Trust” that never existed nor heard of at TOR, apart from the five individual directors and direct beneficiaries of this trust."
They expressed fear that the country might be shortchanged because the Board of Directors of TOR has been compromised in the deal.
