Edward Boateng
Former Ghanaian Diplomat and newly appointed Managing Director of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Edward Boateng is expressing his readiness of coming to fix challenges that have almost crippled the only state run oil refinery.
According to the former Ghana’s Ambassador to China and journalist with the CNN and GBC, he believes he has what it takes to make TOR a viable asset.
The country’s premier oil refinery established in 1963 by the first Ghanaian President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah with the capacity to handle 45,000 barrel per stream day (bpsd) capacity refinery is almost dead as a result of myriad of challenges including financial problem which has been in existence for several years.
This has resulted in serious agitation from some staff of the refinery who recently locked up some management staff.
In a bid to have the challenges resolved, three managing directors have been appointed into leadership position in the first term of President Akufo-Addo.
However, the challenges remain unfixed as the situation keep worsening each day.
Mr. Boateng is going to be the fourth person to manage the refinery under President Akufo-Addo.
He poured out his ability of possessing a strategy of fixing the problems confronting the refinery when speaking in an interview on a privately owned- Kumasi-based media outlet, Wuntumi TV.
Mr. Boateng was of the view that, though he has not had the opportunity to work at TOR, he strongly believes that the problems facing the refinery is purely financial.
He hopes that with the help of the workers, a lasting solution to the problems at TOR can be crafted for the refinery to become profitable.
According to him, “For me, one of the things I always thank my parents for is that they taught us how to solve problems. We have to solve the problem at TOR and I will solve it.”
He was of the view that what made him succeed at CNN after quitting his job at Coca-Cola where many believe he was going to fail but succeeded in helping build the company.
“Again, when Breakfast Show was being introduced at GBC, many workers opposed it but we devised a strategy and ran a shift system to make it workable and has now become an envy for many TV and radio stations today, he mentioned.
According to him, he will use the approach of strong negotiation skills he adopted to convince many Africans to accept CNN programmes to solve the problems confronting TOR and would change the fortunes of this critical national assert.
From Vincent Kubi, Tema