News
NPP youth wing urges Mahama to declare state of emergency on galamsey
The National Youth Wing of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on President John Dramani Mahama to declare a state of emergency to tackle illegal small-scale mining, also known as galamsey.
In a statement signed by National Youth Organizer Salam Mustapha, the youth wing expressed alarm over recent events in which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) boss, Prof. Nana Ama Klutse, and her team were reportedly forced to flee from heavily armed galamsey operators.
The group, some dressed in CID vests, allegedly outgunned security personnel during the incident.
The statement described the situation as “frightening” and accused the galamsey operators of bold audacity and impunity.
It criticized the National Security Secretariat for directing the EPA team to retreat, which reportedly resulted in a serious accident.
The NPP youth wing also called for the dismissal of all metropolitan, municipal, and district chief executives (MMDCEs) in areas affected by galamsey, suggesting that some may have failed in their duties or been complicit.
They further accused the President’s Asutifi North MP of leading thugs to attack a team combating illegal mining, challenging presidential authority.
“Danger beckons, and your inaction will break the camel’s back,” the statement warned, urging immediate action to curb the menace.
Galamsey has been a persistent environmental and security challenge in Ghana, with recent reports highlighting growing violence and clashes between illegal miners and authorities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Managing Director of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Edmond Kombat, has outlined a major expansion drive to restore the refinery to full commercial operation.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series held at the Jubilee House today, Mr. Kombat said in the near term, engineers from Verga Engineering are working with TOR’s technical team to complete the tie-in and commission the F-61 this month.
He explained that this will allow the Crude Distillation Unit to move from its current throughput of about 28,000 barrels per stream day (bpsd) to its nameplate capacity of 45,000 to 55,000 bpsd.
In the medium term, TOR plans to install a new air cooler to raise capacity to 60,000 bpsd and replace the 6,500 barrel-a-day catalytic reformers with a 10,000 barrel-per-day continuous catalytic reformer.
Mr. Kombat added that the new 120-ton boiler has been installed, while work on the RFCC turnaround and SCADA system continues.
He disclosed that on August 1, 2026, President John Mahama directed the Minister for Energy and Green Transition to work with the TOR Board and management on a strategic roadmap to raise processing capacity to 100,000 barrels a day, with a further plan to increase it to 200,000 barrels per day as an end-state.
He also announced plans to restructure TOR so that it can operate on sound commercial principles without undue political interference. According to him, the Ministry of Finance is currently working with TOR to consider writing off $120 million of TOR’s legacy debt owed to the Government of Ghana or converting it into equity.
“TOR is part of a national plan. With the refinery’s expansion from 45,000 to 100,000 barrels a day, Government is targeting about 70 percent of national fuel demand from local refining by 2028,” he said.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Edmond Kombat, has revealed that crude processing at the refinery has resumed after years of dormancy.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series, Mr. Kombat said crude processing started on December 19, 2025, with all product streams going to storage for the first time in years.
He disclosed that since May 2026, TOR has received four five-million-barrel crude cargoes: Bonga, Baleine, Bonnie Light, followed on July 15 by Ghana’s Jubilee Medium Sweet crude, an indigenous crude delivered aboard MT Apache.
According to him, TOR paid for the Jubilee cargo in full, making it the refinery’s first Jubilee cargo in a decade.
Mr. Kombat added that on August 1, 2026, the President commissioned the refurbished Crude Distillation Unit.
The refinery, he said, then received another parcel of Ghanaian indigenous crude of 950,000 barrels of Sankofa crude on September 25, 2026, from its sister agency, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
