Energy Minister Daryl Vaz is refuting suggestions from the Opposition, that government’s response to the Zacca Report on Petrojam has been one of inaction.

Christopher Zacca chaired the Petrojam Review Committee, which was established in response to issues related to the management of the refinery.

Among other things, the committee recommended that Petrojam be privatized.

Speaking in the Sectoral Debate in Parliament this afternoon (May 10), Mr. Vaz outlined that a number of actions have been undertaken, since the report was made public in 2019.

He explained that one of the urgent recommendations of the report concerned the appointment of a fully functioning board which was done in November 2020, through the appointment of an eight-member board headed by Wayne Chen.

Mr. Vaz said since the institution of this board, Petrojam has been set on a path towards the implementation, of improved terminal operations, pricing regime, cost reduction strategies, and other recommendations as noted in the report.

As it pertains to improved terminal operations, Mr. Vaz stated that several initiatives have been implemented to further its improvement; particularly, as it relates to demurrage costs.

The Energy Minister added, that also being implemented as per the recommendations, are cost reduction strategies which form a part of a larger ‘operations improvement programme’.