The General Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers’ Union of the Trades Union Congress (GTPCWU-TUC) has issued a fervent call for the immediate removal of the Board of Directors (BOD) at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), citing a range of concerns related to corporate governance and integrity.
In a recent statement, GTPCWU-TUC implored President Akufo-Addo to take swift action to restore maturity in corporate governance within TOR’s Board of Directors. The union alleges that the current BOD has displayed a high level of incompetence, which they believe is detrimental to the appointing authority’s integrity and a significant drain on public funds.
The core of GTPCWU-TUC’s argument revolves around alleged questionable dealings by the TOR Board in their pursuit of a credible strategic partner for the refinery.
According to the union, the composition of the current BOD appears to be based on political considerations rather than competence. They assert that this has led to a series of name changes for the entity in question, from Decimal Capital/VITOL to Baybridge Asset Management Limited, then Torentco Asset Management Limited, and now Tema Energy and Processing Limited, all within the span of just 18 months.
“All the changes or evolutions of names are shrouded under the pretense 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 charge for citizenship and not spectators, we bring your attention to the latest development with this particular entity (Torentco Asset Management Limited),” the statement read.
GTPCWU-TUC contends that these name changes are attempts to obscure various scandals associated with the TOR Board’s actions. The union alleges that the latest development involves a new special purpose vehicle (SPV) called Tema Energy and Processing Limited, with share allocations of 40% to CAD Investment Holdings, 40% to Torentco, and 20% to TOR Workers Charity Trust. They question the transparency and integrity of these allocations.
Moreover, the GTPCWU-TUC accuses the BOD of enticing workers and rewarding compromised workers with shares in the new SPV to push through their agenda without comprehensive workforce engagement. The union claims that certain TOR local UNICOF executives and their associates have secured an agreement with Torentco to receive a 20% share allocation in Tema Energy and Processing Limited without the knowledge or consent of the majority of TOR workers and executive management.
In their statement, GTPCWU-TUC urged the executive management, particularly the acting Managing Director, to take necessary actions based on the available evidence to restore orderliness within TOR and address the alleged misconduct by the BOD members, compromised TOR-UNICOF executives, and their associates.