Ghana’s Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has commissioned the ultra-modern head office of the country’s strategic fuel stock-keeping company, BOST, at Shiashi, a suburb of Accra.
The head office project was started in 2014 under the previous administration of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and was to be completed in 24 months, but it suffered delay due to some issues which triggered audits and investigations by the BNI.
The project continued after all issues were addressed.
Addressing the gathering, Vice President Dr Mahmud Bawumia noted that BOST was in a chaotic and dismal state upon the assumption of the Akufo-Addo administration.
He said the company had a trading liability of about $624 million with several of the company’s assets being dysfunctional.
“I have been informed that as of 2017, BOST was saddled with liabilities of $624 million comprising legacy loan of Gh¢284 million, BDCs’ claims of $37 million, Capex $100 million and GRA tax liability of Gh¢47 million. “Additionally, 30% of BOST tanks have been decommissioned with three out of the six depots also being non-operational. Four river barges were out of commission. A total network of 361 kilometres of the pipeline was out of service and 77 kilometres of 12-inch pipelines had been detained in Houston, USA, for over 10 years as a result of contractual issues.
“So you see a picture of a company that was being run down. To complicate the dismal and chaotic state, the BOST account had not been audited for the past three years, making it difficult to determine the company’s financial position,” he said.
To address the sordid state of the company, Vice President Bawumia said BOST Board approved a five-year strategic turnaround policy drafted by management from 2020 to 2025 to prevent the company from insolvency and make it profitable.
“Between 2017 and now, 13 out of the 15 defective tanks have been repaired. All four river barges have been fixed. All pipelines repaired whilst obsolete pumps, meters and loading arms have been replaced,” he revealed.
Dr Bawumia said Management’s decision to revive their assets has increased the company’s revenue-generating assets from 34 per cent in 2019 to about 97 per cent to date.
He said the company has moved from being a loss-making entity, saying that in 2021 alone, the company recorded a profit of Gh¢164 million.
He praised the Management, Board and staff of the company for working hard to revive the company.
The Minister for Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, in a speech read for him by the Deputy Minister-designate for Energy, Hebert Krapah, said BOST is dependable as far as Ghana’s fuel security and availability are concerned.
He stated that the government plan has been to keep the light on and keep the transportation sector moving.
He said although many countries had been hit by fuel shortages with long queues and price hikes, Ghana had managed to contain the situation and made fuel available to consumers.
He said the government’s decision to introduce the ‘Gold for Oil’ programme is driving fuel prices downward, assuring the public that “we will continue to do everything to cushion Ghanaians.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com