Asante Bediatuo reacts to reports of his involvement in failed deal to sell TOR to Torentco

The Executive Secretary to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Nana Bediatuo Asante, has reacted to reports of his alleged involvement in the botched deal to sell the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to Torentco, a private company.

In a statement sighted by GhanaWeb, Bediatuo Asante, through his lawyers, Marfo and Associates Legal Practitioners, said that he knows nothing of the said deal.

He also said that he does not own Torentco as asserted in the media reportage.

“In the said publication, your paper stated among others as follows; ‘In June this year, The Herald's insider mentioned that the Energy Minister, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, and a cousin of President Akufo-Addo, Nana Bediatuo Asante, who doubles as his Executive Secretary, have for some time now been haggling over TOR State Facility. Torentco is alleged to be the baby of Nana Bediatuo and is about to take away the State facility almost for free to a company that hadn't sold even a one litre bottle of kerosene before’.

“We are instructed to inform you that; Our client does not have any dealings with the subject matter referred to supra and same cannot be said to be the baby of our client. Moreover, our client has not haggled with anyone for the said TOR Facility. Basic journalistic etiquette required you to at least cross-check your facts prior to publication but you deliberately published this false story for malicious reasons,” part of the statement, reads.

About the Torentco-TOR deal:

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) issued a directive for the suspension of a proposed partnership agreement between the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and Tema Energy and Processing Limited (TEPL).

The directive follows an analysis of the corruption risks associated with the proposed partnership by the Special Prosecutor's Office.

In a letter dated November 21, 2023, addressed to TOR's Managing Director, Daniel Osei Appiah, the OSP instructed TOR to provide all necessary documentation related to the agreement by the close of Tuesday, December 5, 2023.

The letter explicitly mandated TOR to immediately halt the proposed partnership agreement, ongoing negotiations, operations, and any other activities linked to the agreement until further notice from the Special Prosecutor.

The exact reasons behind the OSP's decision remain unclear. However, recent discontent among TOR staff has surfaced, particularly regarding five colleagues and two board members.

Allegations suggest that these individuals registered an entity named 'TOR Workers’ Charity Fund' to clandestinely acquire shares in the TOR-Torentco deal without the knowledge of over 500 workers.

The aggrieved workers claim that the TOR Workers’ Charity Trust, registered on August 29 of this year, was intended to support Torentco Asset Management Limited (TAML), now known as Tema Energy and Processing Limited (TEPL), as the new lessee for the proposed transaction.

Accusations include collusion among two Board Members, two management staff, two UNICOF executives, and one junior staff to ensure the TOR-Torentco deal's approval.

Despite having a refining capacity of 45,000 barrels of oil per day, TOR has faced operational inconsistencies, ongoing losses, management crises, political interference, and challenges with outdated equipment.

The Special Prosecutor's intervention adds a new layer of scrutiny to the proposed partnership, further delaying the resolution of TOR's operational challenges.

Read the full rejoinder below:



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