[ 2016-08-11 ]

Ghana Gas

Ghana Gas workers threaten to lay down tools over BOST takeover
Workers of the Ghana National Gas Company Limited
have issued a three week ultimatum to government
to rescind its decision to hand over the
management of the Ghana National Gas pipeline to
the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company
Limited (BOST).

The workers say they will embark on a
demonstration if their demand is ignored.
“Failure with which the union will have no
choice but to advice itself and if necessary lay
down our tools from August 26, 2016 in protest of
our displeasure at the state of affairs at the
company,” a statement from the Ghana National
Gas Workers Union of the General Transport
Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union GTPCWU of the
Trades Union Congress TUC signed by the Unions
Chairman, Richmond Alamu indicated.

According to Mr. Alamu “workers of Ghana Gas
feels slighted and undervalued by the government,
the Finance and Petroleum Ministries for going
ahead to announce the takeover of the company’s
facilities without any engagement.” “Ghana Gas
personnel, apart from working tirelessly and
delivering on its mandate to curtail the
‘dumsor’ situation, is also saving the
government of Ghana of harsh invoice balances from
the importation of light crude oil for energy
production.

Considering these beneficial deliverable on the
company’s part, the local union least expects
government to engage in such demotivation
fragmentation of the company by siphoning its
important installations to other state agencies
without tangible synergistic plan for a win-win
manifesto,” he added.

Mr. Alamu further stated that “there was a
directive from the Ministry of Petroleum to BOST
to take over the management of the natural gas
facilities without any engagement,… we are yet
to receive any official communication from
government or the sector ministry about the
proposed takeover [by BOST]. The union is of the
view that such decisions demoralize personnel and
may ultimately affect productivity in the long
run.”

Use monies from energy levy to defray VRA
indebtedness

The workers also want government to use monies
accrued into the Energy Levy Fund to pay the over
$350 million “VRA’s chronic indebtedness to
Ghana Gas being the invoice value for lean gas
supplied for its power production”.

The union says the ripple effect of the VRA’s
indebtedness to Ghana Gas “has virtually
disabled the company from meeting its debt
servicing obligation to the China Development
Bank, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation for its
raw gas exported to the Atuabo Gas Processing
Plant”.

The statement added that “we therefore request
the government of Ghana and the relevant MDA’s,
as a matter of urgency to release monies accrued
from the Energy Levy to Ghana Gas to help sustain
the latter’s operations. Should this fail, we
shall resolve to resort to this very harsh
position [lay down tools] since we do not want
Ghana Gas to become a highly indebted agency like
TOR, VRA, ECG and other state agencies”.

Source - citifmonline.com

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