By Aaron Hammond 
The Tema Oil Refinery is finally back to life and bringing big smiles to many Ghanaian homes. For a long time people thought the state refinery would completely collapse. However things have changed beautifully under the new management. The massive revival proves that our own local professionals have serious talent and can fix our biggest industrial problems.
President John Dramani Mahama officially commissioned the refurbished facilities recently. He expressed pure joy about this achievement. He said the successful restoration of the refinery by Ghanaian experts restores our national pride. It simply shows that state assets can thrive perfectly when we put the right people in charge.
Let us talk about the best part which is the massive employment boom. The Managing Director Edmond Kombat shared some wonderful statistics that will make any citizen proud. He confirmed the great news that TOR recruits 300 young engineers into permanent positions with 1,542 jobs created overall during the entire rehabilitation process. This means many families now have a stable source of income.
The job numbers are truly impressive when you look at the breakdown. The refinery engaged 301 temporary workers during the main plant maintenance and another 287 workers for other unit repairs. Also 35 local subcontractors hired 654 temporary workers to help finish the project. This is exactly how we keep money inside the local economy instead of sending it abroad.
This brilliant move guarantees better energy security for the whole nation. Every single barrel we refine locally saves the country valuable foreign exchange. It also means we will gradually stop relying heavily on imported petroleum products. The leadership at the refinery really deserves a big round of applause for choosing local engineers over expensive expatriates.
Now the biggest challenge is keeping the equipment running safely and profitably. Management must ensure strict discipline and accountability so we do not go back to the dark days. We expect the newly hired young professionals to work hard and protect this national treasure. The future definitely looks bright for our petroleum sector.
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