Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo has declared that the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) will be put back into operation after years of standstill.

 He made the announcement at the opening of the Santuo Oil Refinery, also located in Tema and owned by a Chinese company. He went on to say that both plants could process the majority of Ghana's oil production and thus drastically reduce the import of petroleum products. He does not see any competition.

The CEO of the Santuo Group, Xu Ning Quan, explained that even though they are a Chinese company, they are committed to Ghana's development. 

However, some people think it’s different: China has been expanding its influence worldwide for years and is investing in infrastructure and energy projects through Chinese companies. Africa is particularly in its sights. China already owns a harbour and a military base in Djibouti and is also active in other African countries such as Tanzania, Zambia, Cameroon and even in Ghana. The African states are being offered favourable loans, but this is leading to greater dependence and extending China's influence further and further. As a rule, hardly any jobs are created for locals, as China brings its own employees with it.

The presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama, has accused the government of running down the TOR. He criticised the inefficiency that, in his opinion, often goes hand in hand with state-owned companies. In the event of an election victory, he would try to find investors via a private-public partnership in order to make the refinery profitable again. Founded in 1960, the company was originally owned by an Italian company and was completely taken over by the Ghanaian state in 1977 during the military dictatorship of Ignatius Acheampong. Enormous debts and technical problems have plagued operations for years.