Majority calls for forensic audit on BOST

 

The Majority Caucus in Parliament has called for full-scale investigations and a forensic audit into the activities of the Bulk Oil Storage Transportation (BOST), from 2009.

It said the press conference by the Minority was to throw dust into the eyes of the public, and to cover-up the massive rot at BOST, which occurred under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration and Mr Kwame Awuah Darko, the former Chief Executive Officer.

Mr Emmanuel Akwasi Gyamfi, Chairman of the Energy Committee, said this at a press conference, organised by the Majority New Patriotic Party (NPP), in reaction to the Minority’s conference on the recent five million litres of contaminated fuel at BOST.

The Minority NDC, on Tuesday, organised a press conference and accused Mr Alfred Obeng Boateng, Chief Executive of BOST, to have, among other things, done business with two unlicensed companies of Moveniina And Zupp Oil.

The Minority said the five million litres of contaminated fuel should have been processed to restore it to good use, instead of selling it off.

They also accused him of causing financial loss to the state, which they estimated at GH¢14.2 million.

Mr Gyamfi also refuted the Minority’s allegation that Moveniina bought the product at GH¢1 and sold it at GH¢1.30 to Zupp Oil, adding; “Moveniina, indeed, bought the contaminated product at GH¢1.30, and then sold at GH¢1.32 and made a marginal profit of GH¢100,000.”

He said, between 2014 and 2016, when the contamination of fuel products escalated, the average price that the product was sold was 70 pesewas per litre, as the price ranged from 50 pesewas to 90 pesewas.

Mr Gyamfi said the sale price of the recent contaminated product at GH¢1.30 was 86 per cent higher than what was obtained in the past, and the highest value the nation had ever earned. BOST sells its good-spec at a price of GH¢1.75 per litre.

Mr Gyamfi also debunked the Minority’s claim that under no circumstance should BOST experience such levels of contamination, as was witnessed.

He said, under the NDC, similar contaminations occurred in 2014, 2015 and 2016, and the quantities involved were 4.6 million litres, 9.9 million litres and 12 million litres respectively.

He said the Minority’s allegation that the contamination had to do with the inefficiencies and negligence of Mr Boateng was not true, because the five million litres was detected on January 18, 2017, when Mr Awuah Darko was still the Chief Executive of BOST.

Mr Gyamfi said, on July 22, 2014, BOST, under Mr Awuah Darko, engaged Messrs Merson Capital Limited as a financial consultant on its projects, with the responsibility for financial evaluation and assisting in negotiating with financiers.

He said, for this assistance, Merson Capital was to be paid $50,000 per month for 36 months, and if through its instrumentality any financier came on board, Merson Capital was entitled to one percent of the total capital raised.

Mr Gyamfi said, under Mr Awuah Darko, BOST rented property at Airport Residential Area, and for more than two years after it had vacated the premises, they kept the key and kept paying rent amounting to $310,000 in June 2016.

He said BOST engaged Messrs Rolider Limited for a turnkey design, build and finance for their headquarters building at a cost of $39 million, exclusive of VAT.

According to experts, the headquarters could have been built at a cost of $19 million, saving the nation $20 million of the taxpayer’s money.

He said, since 2015, BOST, under the guise of Security Transfer, had transferred unexplained amounts of between GH¢2.5 million to GH¢3.5 million, on a bi-monthly basis, to the Office of the then President and then Chief of Staff, the last amount being GH¢3 million, which was transferred on January 3, 2017.

Source: GNA

  The Majority Caucus in Parliament has called for full-scale investigations and a forensic audit into the activities of the Bulk Oil Storage Transportation (BOST), from 2009. It said the press conference by the Minority was to throw dust into the eyes of the public, and to cover-up the massive rot at BOST, which occurred […] Read Full Story