The Management of Bulk Oil and Transportation Company (BOST) has urged the public to ignore ill-informed allegations of the Minority claiming that the money being used for the construction of a single unit tower for BOST was inflated from US$ 39 million to US$78 million.
The Minority in Parliament called for an independent probe into an alleged US$ 78 million procurement scandal at the Bulk Oil and Transportation Company (BOST).
Speaking to the media in Parliament today July 28, 2022, the MP for Yapei-Kusawgu Constituency and Ranking Member, Mines and Energy Committee, John Abdulai Jinapor mentioned that a single unit tower that can be constructed at US$ 39 million has been inflated and approved by the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) at US$78 million.
He revealed that the project is being supervised by the Akufo-Addo government without recourse to the law and respect to the citizenry amidst the current economic hardships.
John Abdulai Jinapor added that former Chief Executive Officer at BOST, Kwame Awuah Darko began the construction of the twin tower office in 2015 to serve as office accommodation and enhance internally generated funds at the company.
He claimed that the current Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration falsely accused Mr. Awuah Darko of inflating and padding the contract and as a result, they suspended the project.
The Minority argues that although Mr. Awuah Darko was cleared of any wrongdoing after a probe by the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), recent developments and documents available uncovered the scandal.
Read Also: BOST fingered in $78m scandal; Minority calls for probe
Response
Reacting to this, BOST explained that, it was currently occupying rented premises and in its view, securing the single block at the $23.5million will help to do away with the burden of rising cost of rent in the current premises.
It said the tower blocks are not the same in terms of the facilities they harbor, adding that the one BOST is acquiring is customized to accommodate the staff of the company based on the corporate structure which existed at the time of the contract.
It continued to explain that the other block was intended to be rented out to raise further income for BOST.
“The two blocks per the valuer’s report in 2020 cost $49.6million and the simplistic arithmetic of multiplying the original contract cost of $39m submitted to the PPA for ratification by 2 to claim the blocks cost $78 million is simply erroneous and mischievous.
These are the facts pertaining to the BOST Head Office building which started in 2016 and is yet to be occupied by the company,” BOST stated.
Meanwhile, it urged the minority to at least seek better understanding and clarification of issues before engaging the press because at some points in time, failure to do due diligence could result in embarrassment.
“It is the contract signed without resort to due process which by law was submitted for ratification by the PPA before any variation of the terms could be attempted by the current management. Money has time value and what costs $39 million in 2015 would most likely cost something higher six years later. These are fundamental principles of finance which cannot be overlooked,” its stated.
BOST added that its current management used the Procurement Law to correct the anomalies of the processes and through a transparent process decided to acquire half of the twin-tower to house their operations.
It said the fact that the contract was under investigation by EOCO and relevant authorities did not allow them to enter into negotiations with the contractor early enough.
“With an independent valuer involved, we believe the figures arrived at were a true and fair reflection of the current pricing of the project and we are confident that the decision is in the best interest of the taxpayer.”
BOST added that,”We therefore urge the public to ignore the ill-informed allegations of the minority and be assured that BOST is safe and secure in the hands of the current management. The ever-loss-making BOST is set to announce a huge turnaround in the next couple of weeks due to the diligence and hard work of the current management.”
Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Porcia Oforiwaa Ofori
 has urged the public to ignore ill-informed allegations of the US$ 39 million to US$78 million.){kind=link}