Managerial Bickering At TOR....

Alarming reports reaching Chronicle indicate that the management of the Tema Oil Refinery is engaged in serious trading of wild accusations, resulting in the creation of two factions.

The two factions are reportedly led separately by the Administration and Production departments respectively.

According to sources ever since the deputy managing director in charge of operations, Mr. Robert. B. Forson, put in his application for the vacant position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and it was made known to some senior staff, the bickering and pettiness at managerial level have reached alarming proportions.

Chronicle gathered that the administrative manager, Dr. Ali Abugre, had been overhead telling a colleague, "with my qualification and experience, I can run TOR better than what is going on now."

This statement, coupled with other matters, such as conflict of interest, stealing and factionalism, is the canker which when not checked will blow up TOR with multiple negative effects.

When contacted, Mr. Forson played down these events, claiming that everything is under control because "we have to work together in the interest of TOR and Ghana as a whole."

He stated that the rumours, some of which are about him, continue to filter through to his office but they are without substance.

"In addition to this, TOR management, together with its board, is well resourced to deal with any threatening situation that would rear its ugly head, " he noted.

The administrative manager who is alleged to be the pivot of one of the factions also debunked the allegations concerning him.

He denied that he, together with a group of Northerners, is strenuously scheming to get them and himself promoted to occupy key managerial positions through any means possible.

He threw over board the allegation that he was courting the influence of a well-known board member in whose house it is alleged meetings are held and also deliberately delays the processing of documents of some of his supposed enemies.

Substantiating his claim, he tendered in evidence a number of documents, which were corroborative assignments excellently executed and duly signed, as well as he representing TOR at various workshops, together with some of his alleged enemies, as proof, thus making nonsense of the allegations about him.

According to him, he did not apply for the advertised vacant position of CEO and has not applied for any position at TOR, hence his bewilderment with the rumour that he is gunning for any position.

Chronicle gathered that a committee of inquiry had been set-up to investigate a Manager concerning his involvement in conflict of interest cases, such as one involving the award of a contract to a subcontractor on whose letterhead appears his name as one of the directors, even though the subcontractor did not win the contract directly from TOR and the other concerning a contract won and executed by a company owned by his wife.

When contacted, he was of the opinion that, all these allegations against him are to a large extent, the machinations of his detractors and that his hands are clean.

At the time of going to press, the investigations and its attendant report were still ongoing.

Worst of all, Chronicle also gathered that, there is bad blood between two key departments; Safety and Security departments respectively. These departments were formally merged sometime ago but were separated recently to enhance their effectiveness.

The fire and safety head, a former union chairman, who used to be the head of both departments when they were merged, is alleged to have improperly acquired materials from TOR to build his own gas plant at Ashiaman, near Tema.

Chronicle gathered that adverse findings were brought against him, when investigations were instituted into his conduct among other alleged acts of impropriety. When contacted, he made available some documents and receipts to show that it is not true that he stole the items but indeed he paid for everything.

It was brought to Chronicle's notice that the bone of contention between the two departments, Safety and Security, is the acquiring of a new Toyota pickup for the head of the security department, a rented apartment in Tema (even though the security head is a resident of Teshie Nungua), a mobile phone, a GT landline, among others, whilst the safety head is not entitled to most of these and even has to struggle and hassle management to meet their requisitions.

It was also made known that the Safety department has to make do with some old rickety Land Rover, a pickup and a clinic bus. The Safety department is of the view that it must be given much priority, if not the same as is given to the Security department.

According to sources, the two departmental heads are at loggerheads resulting in the trading of accusations among staff of the two departments. For instance, the signing of a document that allows a tanker to enter or leave the premises of TOR by the chief of security in his office, which are collected at the gate and brought to him for authorisation, is being seen by some of the staff as an act of impropriety that would present the opportunity for him to collect monies and other material inducement from the tanker drivers, owners or the OMC's.

In an interview with the chief of security, Lt.Col(rtd) Nii Osa Lutterodt, he denied these allegations, saying they emanate from prejudiced minds, adding that, "it is a practice he inherited from his predecessor."

In a related issue. a GNA report of Monday, quoted Mr. R. B. Forson, deputy manmaging director of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) as saying the management of refinery (TOR) is putting measures in place to check illegal activities at the TOR.

As part of the measures, Mr. Forson announced that from March, tanker drivers and their mates would start wearing common uniform for easy identification to check infiltration.

He said tanker operators have welcomed the new measures because they were also worried about people mingling with them to commit crimes that go to tarnish their image.

Mr. Forson said the bushy areas around the pipelines at the premises of the refinery that has served as a hideout for criminal activities has been cleared.

He said the measures have become necessary in view of the fact that the company's security and the security agencies cannot be at every corner of the refinery to keep watch and expressed the hope that it would bring sanity into the system adding that they were liaising with the security agencies to find a lasting solution to the problem.

Last week seven people were arrested at TOR for siphoning fuel from tankers that have already been served into containers and they were put before a Tema court where they were remanded into custody to re-appear on yesterday, Wednesday, February 12. They all pleaded not guilty.

They were Kwasi Donkor, unemployed, Kwasi Ahroe, apprentice electrician, Thomas Appiah, electrician, Kofi Asamoah and Kwame Adjei both drivers and Daniel Coleman and Morgan Seidu both driver's mate.