According to John Jinapor, the Minority Caucus will use other procedures if the government ignores their request to stop its plans to lease the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to the for-profit company, Torentco Asset Management Group.
The government intends to lease TOR for $22 million over a six-year period to Torentco Asset Management Group, which is anticipated to refine up to 8 million barrels of fuel annually.
The group will pay $1 million in annual rent as well as an additional rent payment of more than $1 million every month as part of the agreement.
However, Mr. Jinapor stated during a Thursday interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Eyewitness News on Citi FM in Accra, “We will activate some processes, both parliamentary and legal, to ensure that the right thing is done.”
Instead of leasing TOR to a private company, Mr. Jinapor argued that the government must consider other cutting-edge strategies for revitalizing the company.
He stated, “We should rather think about something innovative that will bring the refinery back to speed.”
Earlier, Mr. Jinapor urged the government to halt the lease agreement, interact with interested parties more, and see to it that TOR’s issues were resolved permanently.
He claimed that this was so that Ghanaians would not benefit from the deal in its current form.
Parliament: Minority calls on govt to halt TOR lease agreement#UTVNews pic.twitter.com/uwZIikT74T
— UTV Ghana (@utvghana) July 13, 2023
In a related news, a seven-member committee has been formed by Speaker of the House Alban Bagbin to look into a leaked audio recording that details a plot to have Inspector-General of Police Dr. George Akuffo Dampare removed from office because he will be too strict and professional during the 2024 elections to allow the ruling New Patriotic Party to rig the results.
The committee should consist of three representatives from both the majority and minority parties in the house, as well as one technical person, according to the speaker.
His order was required by a statement made by Kofi Armah Buah, the deputy minority leader, in which he called for the formation of a committee to look into the explosive audio that had leaked.