<<Print>>

Following allegations by workers of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) that some members of management and Ministers of State were involved in deals that have accounted for the refinery�s inability to secure crude oil supply, President John Evans Atta Mills yesterday promised to have all those allegations investigated. �Every allegation about TOR is being investigated, �he told a charged assembly of workers during a visit to the refinery at Tema. President Mills, who was at the refinery to familiarize himself with problems confronting the country�s only crude oil refinery plant, assured the workers that anyone found to be involved in deals detrimental to TOR�s effective operations, would be dealt with, irrespective of the personality. �Nobody will get away with any malfeasance,� he stressed. �There are a lot of charlatans in the oil business,� he said, and added �but we are learning fast.� President Mills, who held a closed door meeting with the TOR management and labour union leaders before meeting the workers, assured them that the refinery would soon have crude oil for operations to resume. He said he was eager to see TOR have crude oil, declaring: �The reason for my visit here is that I want crude oil.� He urged the workers to exercise patience and restraint in their demands on management, noting that although their demands were �very legitimate,� there was need for decorum and cordiality in the interactions and negotiations between both parties. �We know situation is not the best,� he said, but was optimistic that the refinery would overcome the challenges. He thanked the workers for boldly voicing their concerns which, he said, were in the interest of TOR and the nation. Indeed, he said, the problems of the refinery would have been solved long ago if the workers had been loud in their concerns in the past. President Mills addressed a number of questions from the workers who spoke passionately and angrily about their concerns, ranging from issues about the unavailability of crude oil to poor salary adjustments and allegations of corrupt deals at TOR. The refinery is currently engulfed in huge debts, making it virtually impossible to secure crude from suppliers. The President�s visit followed a call on Tuesday by the Unionized Petroleum Workers asking him to intervene to help find a lasting solution to the crude oil problem facing.