Heavy indebtedness by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has been the cause of long queues at fuel pumps lately, Financial Intelligence (FI) inquisitions have revealed.

As of April ending this year, the total indebtedness of the OMCs to TOR stood at a whopping GH¢310, 755,932.88, creating serious problems for the refiner.

Speaking to the FI, the newly appointed Managing Director (MD) of TOR, Kwame Ampofo disclosed that his administration had no choice than to cut off those OMCs which have exceeded their grace periods.

“And so the shortages at the fuel pumps are artificial ones created by the financial indiscipline on the part of the OMCs”, Dr. Ampofo disclosed.

He also disclosed that when his administration started the current exercise of recovery from June 16, the marketing companies started rushing in to make good their indebtedness.

“Between June 16 and 26, 2009, we were able to collect GH¢ 24 million and by June ending we got about GH¢ 30 million”, the TOR boss said.

Dr. Ampofo continued that “refinery is a serious business all over the world and must be run as such”. He therefore wondered why from the look of things, the previous administration seemed unwilling to pursue their debtors to recover these debts.

He said TOR has enough fuel to supply but would only sell to marketing companies which are ready to play by the rules and are in good standing.

“Unless Ghanaians want us to continue supplying to companies in spite of their indebtedness”, he stated, adding that this practice would gradually collapse the refinery.

The TOR boss also lamented the system ran by the previous management which nearly collapsed the state refiner. According to him, fuel allocations were issued to all manner of people with the former head of the refinery having an unlimited allocation.

However, Dr. Ampofo led management has cut down on these allocations including that of himself in order to save cost for the company.

He also alleged that, a type of crude oil called Coco which TOR machines are incompatible with had been brought in by the previous management under very strange circumstances to refine at TOR, thus causing a break down in machinery at the refiner.

He said his administration is poised to clean the system. “The system needs to be healed by stopping the rot and abuse and injecting strict discipline into it, he stated. He said under his administration every pesewa paid out by TOR must be necessary and accounted for.

He also mentioned the abuse of the manpower management system to the disadvantage of TOR. Citing one of such cases of abuse, the TOR boss revealed that, the company was used as a dumping ground for anybody wanting to engage in industrial attachment. According to him also, a department that needed about 450 personnel, now has close to 1000 employees.

He promised that his administration would turn things around within the next 18 months.

Acting Chief Executive Officer (Ag C.E.O) of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Alexander Mould who corroborated Dr. Ampofo’s story explained that, the issue became so precarious that, they even had to withdraw the bank guarantees for such recalcitrant OMCs.

He explained that it is those companies who have not come to pay their debts that do not have fuel to sell, adding that “TOR cannot continue supplying to them when they have not defrayed their outstanding debts”.

Mr. Mould disclosed that the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) has also been chasing some of the OMCs for outstanding taxes owed them.

Deputy Minister for Energy, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, about a fortnight ago had cause to complain about the attitude of the OMCs, suggesting that, the government would rather work with three OMCs if they are ready to operate transparently and bring maximum benefits to the broad masses of the people than to have 50 of them, many of which currently think of their own welfare.

Concerns are being raised in some quarters as to whether TOR has put in place measures to address inconveniences motorists would be exposed to as a result of the stringent financial action taken on OMCs who are in its bad books.