We will not privatize Tema Oil Refinery- Edward Bawa

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February 22, 2016 11:01 AM

The ministry's comments come after Dr. Steven Manteaw called on government to sell its stake in the Tema Oil Refinery and other state- owned institutions.

The Ministry's position comes after Dr. Steven Manteaw called on government to sell its stake in the Tema Oil Refinery and other state- owned institutions.

According to Dr. Manteaw, the biggest bane of TOR is the unbridled political interference in its operations by government.

In an exclusive interview with Pulse Business, Co-Chair of the Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (GHEITI), Dr. Steve Manteaw charged government to privatize non- performing public institutions like the Tema Oil Refinery.

" The solution is for government to relinquish ownership in the refinery, and leave shareholders to appoint a governing board and the management of the company. They will be in a much better position to fire management if they feel they are not working well enough" he stressed.

He therefore called for government to float its stake on the Ghana Stock Exchange for private Ghanaians to buy.

However speaking to Citi FM, the Communications Director of the Petroleum Ministry, Edward Bawa said government will not float its stake on the stock exchange.

" We should learn from what happened in our mining industry, that if we don't have a controlling stake in the sector, we will not get the full benefits from the resource. And the only way we can compete with the IOCs is to have control of the major institutions in the sector."

Edward Bawa disclosed some of government's plans to make the state- owned institutions to make them more efficient and viable than they are.

"For the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation we are looking at making it a stand- alone operator, which means they will develop their own fields, produce and sell. This will be in seven years."

On the idea of floating government's stake in the Tema Oil Refinery on the stock exchange, the Communications Director of the Ministry said the refinery must be made more viable in order to attract investors.

" Even if we are to float our stake in the oil refinery on the stock exchange as it is, the potential investors will be looking at the financial viability of the refinery. We may not get the real value we need for it. So it is important to make it commercially viable first."

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