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The attention of Energy Minister and Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has been drawn to unjustified vituperations on his person by Morning Show Host on Onua TV, Godsbrain Smart, popularly known in media circles as Captain Smart, whilst commenting on the matter of government finding a possible strategic partner for the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR).

Whilst we view the insults on the Energy Minister as one of the ‘occupational hazards’ of a public servant, it is utterly disappointing, that a journalist decides to sink to a record low, without apprising himself of the relevant facts and having regard for proper ethics of his profession. We wish to respond to the rather baseless and clearly, ignorant rantings of Captain Smart as follows:

1.    Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh as Energy Minister has demonstrated without a shred of doubt, his total commitment to getting TOR back to work in line with the vision of His Excellency the President. Indeed, the Board, Management and Staff of the Company are on record to have severally touted the numerous positive interventions of the Minister in this regard.

2.    Government’s quest at finding a credible partner towards revamping the company involves key state actors such as the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) and the Attorney General’s Department.

3.    It is important to state that, the company has in place a Board and a Management running the day-to-day affairs, who are primary stakeholders in this transaction. 

4.    Negotiations with the potential partner is still ongoing to the extent that, no contract has yet been signed. 

5.    The Minister’s interest is to ensure that, the strategic private sector partnership is in the interest of TOR; an important step in getting the refinery back to work in the shortest possible time. 

On the back of the above explanations, we struggle to understand how anybody can allege a mirage of a wrongdoing on the part of the sector Minister. For the likes of Captain Smart, it is just the usual easy business of maligning one’s reputation through the throwing of tantrums to create an impression of corruption on the part of the Minister in the eyes of unsuspecting citizens.

Captain Smart and his ilk are reminded that, the history of this country is replete with a number of instances, where Boards and Managements of State-owned Enterprises have been solely answerable to the relevant authority without recourse to a sector Minister and therefore the erroneous assumption that a Minister is blamed for every happening is such a fallacy.

On the issues of the undiluted insults on Dr. Prempeh’s Ashanti royalty which has no nexus with the current matter, it is not in our civilized place to respond in equal measure, except to acknowledge that, it only accentuates the uncouth character of Captain Smart as described by many Ghanaians.   

Captain Smart must begin to understand that as a journalist, he has a responsibility to educate and inform his audience and not to use his platform to deliberately transmit hatred in furtherance of sinister agenda. We wish to alert Ghanaians of the avalanche of contrived attacks in the offing on the Energy Minister in the coming days by his political ‘assailants’  

Dr. Prempeh has not done anything untoward in the current matter and remains focused in supporting and drawing synergies from relevant stakeholders in getting TOR back to work.