Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has warned workers of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) that government will not hesitate to dismiss anyone who seeks to sabotage the operations of the refinery.

According to him, he would not shield any worker of the refinery including management, whose operations would go to sabotage the operations of the refinery.

He said the government wanted to see a change in the attitude of workers so as to improve the operations of the company.

“The President does not want TOR to collapse under his regime. Rather, he wants more people employed. Anyone who is working here, whether management or ordinary workers whose activities will not promote TOR, should find themselves a better place to work. I mentioned this to the union leaders and they did not like it. It is the duty of management to ensure that TOR grows to be a profitable and healthy concern. And, if any worker is not up to it, then, the owners of TOR will have to bring in the needed change,” Dr Prempeh made these known when he paid a courtesy call on the management and staff of TOR on Thursday.

He assured the workers that the government would work to secure a partnership that would help TOR grow.

“When these partnerships occur which I know they are going to occur very soon, we will not hesitate to remove stumbling blocks who want the collapse of TOR,” he warned.

Dr. Prempeh said he found it difficult to understand why TOR was in a financial crisis.

Admitting that TOR was not in a healthy state, he noted, “If the activities of leaders behind me will lead to the loss of jobs, then there is no point,” he said.

According to him, the massive private sector investment by the government did not mean the government wanted the public sector to collapse but rather wanted it to compete with the private sector.

“TOR is a strategic national asset and we will keep it safe and ensure TOR grows from strength to strength. We will make sure we support TOR with the needed partnership to grow and sustain it,” he mentioned.

Touching on the government’s vision for TOR, the sector minister stated that the government was determined to see TOR’s crude and finished export products to other markets to ensure that more people are employed to help the refinery grow.