“The attention of the Senior Workers Union of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has been drawn to a story published by energnewsafrica.com with the headline “Frustrated Napo Washes Hands off Tema Oil Refinery Affairs Due To Interference” alleging that the Minister for Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, is in pain and getting frustrated each passing day due to interferences in his role by relatives of the President.
“The story also made wild allegations that Hon. Opoku Prempeh, who is supervising 15 energy sector agencies under his ministry, has allegedly washed off his hands of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) after people close to His Excellency President Akufo-Addo managed to put pressure on him to get the Interim Management Committee (IMC) he constituted after the dismissal of the Managing Director, Francis Boateng, and his deputy, Mr. Ato Morrison, to pack out and brought in their darling boy Mr. Jerry Kofi Hinson, as the new Managing Director of TOR.
“The malicious story written by one Michael Creg Afful also alleged that, the Minister’s effort, through the IMC to weed out bad elements from the nation’s premier refinery, seems to have stepped on toes within the government and executives of senior staff association who are allegedly members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC). We want to make it clear that such an association does not exist at TOR let alone having some supposed executives being members of the NDC.
“First of all, we are not in a position to ascertain the veracity of pain and frustration of the Minister of Energy as a result of interference by relatives of the President.
“We are also not able to confirm your allegations to the effect that the Minister who was appointed by the President to oversee various energy companies including Tema Oil Refinery has as story claimed, washed his hands off TOR due to pressure from people close to the President to pack out the IMC and appoint Mr. Jerry Kofi Hinson as Managing Director.
“These allegations are within your control to substantiate when the time comes for that to be required of you.
“We are however aware of the IMC allegations made against certain employees of TOR whose names we deem inappropriate to mention like you have done because of defamation consequences.
“The publisher and his assigns should not underestimate how this falsehood and defamatory statement negatively affects every facet of people lives and the reputation of the Refinery.
“It is important to note that the defunct IMC who were appointed to take charge of the Refinery should have taken time to appreciate the working systems of the Refinery. What your publication does not expressly admit, but which is apparent is that the IMC failed to investigate the allegations and support it with facts and the relevant evidence before putting the said employees before a Disciplinary Hearing. It gives us a cause to worry about how the IMC was in a hurry to undertake witch hunting to enable them stay in power.
“The staff named in your publication were not even given ‘the opportunity to be heard’ first of all before interdicted. This is in clear breach of the first rule of natural justice.
“As if that was not enough the IMC went further to Chair the Disciplinary Hearing Committee which they themselves put in place. A clear breach of the second rule of natural justice which stipulates the fact that ‘ one cannot be a judge in his own cause’
“The IMC having chaired the Disciplinary Hearing Committee come out with facts and recommendations which clearly posited that the workers they interdicted were not culpable in any of the wrong doing that the IMC alleged.
“The important thing is not whether the IMC has left TOR. The important thing is that they made frivolous allegations against workers, interdicted them without ‘given them the opportunity to be heard’, turn round to be a ‘judge in their own cause’ and subsequently exonerated the workers.
“You need to know for a fact that the exonerated workers went through the required TOR internal Disciplinary procedures and were found not guilty by the same IMC but not the Managing Director Mr. Jerry Kofi Hinson.
The facts are; The IMC set up a Disciplinary Hearing Committee, Chaired by the IMC and their own facts and recommendations have exonerated these workers. What this means is that, the IMC’S approach lacks the requisite facts, evidence, merit and to say the least they were finding fault where there was None.
“What is worse, you are now publishing defamatory reports against these innocent workers before and after their exoneration.
What you have succeeded in doing is subjecting the exonerated workers to public ridicule and lowering their status in the eyes of right thinking people. Do not be surprised to find yourself in court charged with defamation in the near future.
“From the foregoing it has become very clear that your publication is diabolical, has no merit and is intended to tarnish the reputation of the Managing Director Mr. Jerry Kofi Hinson.
“For and on behalf of TOR workers.
Bright Adongo
(Chairman – PMSU of UNICOF)
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com