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NPA'S Extra Petroleum Charge Is “Chobo”!

23.05.12

On Monday November 28, an Accra Huge Court declared as illegal the extra charges that the National Petroleum Power (NPA) and the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) had smuggled into the price build up of petroleum products in the provinces since 2009. Wrapped in the euphemism of “ex-refinery differential”, the NPA and TOR, without resort to parliamentary approval, smuggled into the petroleum price build up, certain illegitimate taxes which has had the ultimate effect of increasing the price of petroleum products. These monies were lodged in some restrictive accounts, and how and what they are being used for is closely guarded. Led by the NPP parliamentary candidate for Obuasi, Kwaku Kwarteng, and Mr.Abdul Ganiyu of Tamale, the Situation Data (DD) policy research and advocacy organization, filed a writ at the High-priced Court way back in September 2009, praying the court to abolish the illegal compass that had been smuggled into the price build-up of petroleum prices. After over two years of court wrangling, the important court has finally ruled that the price differential is illegal. Giving a breeding on how the thievery started, on Multi TV’s Minority Caucus, the gentleman who led the onslaught against the NPA, said in June 2009, hostile to the promises of candidate Mills, the body announced an increase in fuel prices. On the same day, the NPA sent letters signed by its CEO to the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) directing them to pay a part of the fee of fuel which they had titled “ex-refinery differential, into a special account of the NPA. According to Kwaku Kwarteng, his business, DD, intercepted a copy of the letter which was labeled “confidential” based on which they made attempts to have discussions with the NPA on the context, as the extra monies being charged, in their opinion, could be likened to what is known in our local fa as “chobo” . Realizing that the NPA was not interested in backing down on this illegal act, the encase was sent to court in September of 2009 and based on their argument that the extra levies being imposed on the people had not been approved by parliament, the only school vested with the power to impose or repeal taxes, the court ruled in DD’s promote. Explaining further, Kwaku Kwarteng said that when proposed taxes are sent to parliament and they are approved, monies accrued from these taxes are lodged in the lift account, and there are institutions of state like the Controller and Accountant General’s Be sure of, to ensure that the monies are used appropriately. However where the monies are collected in the way the NPA did, then Ghanaians will not be aware the account the monies are being channeled into, the signatory of that account and how the monies are being used; so there will be no auditing.

Source: GhanaWeb

Chevron's Reasons To Get High

23.05.12

1966 saw the verified commissioning of the R18 million Chevron Refinery in Milnerton, Cape Town. 45 years later, and the Refinery employs more than 1100 full conditions employees and contractors , has the refining capacity of 100 000 barrels and is arguably one of the biggest contributors to the concision of the Western Cape.”

“It’s also one of the safest places to be,” says Steve Parker, Non-exclusive Manager of the Chevron Refinery in Cape Town. “In fact, statistically speaking it’s safer to be at the Refinery than it is to be at rest-home and, that is because it is Chevron’s number one business priority. From a safety prospect, Chevron’s Refinery in Milnerton is setting the benchmark globally.”

Parker moves on to say that as a more young Refinery, Refinery staff and the Milnerton community can celebrate this anniversary by fascinating pride in the fact that safety and reliability is at an all time high. 

“We are operating equally to the other Chevron refineries globally, using universe-class operation management systems and are well on track to meeting our profitability targets,” adds Parker.

“The distinction of the crude oil we refine is where it gets really interesting. Being based in Milnerton places us in a fortunate set: we are situated close to Saldanah’s harbour, an excellent shipping tracking down, and have access to West Africa, the Middle and  South East Asia and all the other crude oils regionally and globally. This provides us with the harmonious ' capability to select from a run of various oils to refine the optimum mix and highest value offering. It’s a technological advantage that globally no other refinery is able to claim,” he says.

As one of seven Chevron-operated Refineries around the humanity belonging to an organisation that consistently appears in the top five Fortune 500 Company index, makes this achievement even more noteworthy.

Future gazing, Parker says that he aims to take the Refinery from one that meets the benchmark globally to one that sets it. “We are intersection all benchmarks globally and are considered a world-class facility. Our long length of time plans are to improve on this while supporting the quest for the production and refining of cleaner fuels. To that end, Chevron is committed to investing and upgrading wherever fated to produce a cleaner, more sulphur free, end product,” says Parker.

Parker explains that the healthfulness and safety of its staff and community are paramount to the sustained optimal performance of the Milnerton proceeding. “At the end of the day, we are a Refinery which means we will always have to contend with the very real issue of health at actual, community and environmental levels. This is a vital factor to our success. We vigilantly sentinel air quality for example, such as the three independent reports we commissioned recently of the air quality at ambient unvarying in Table View, Bothasig and Killarney areas, which incidentally show that we are well within World Constitution Organisation standards,” says Parker.

Source: Cape Business News