BOST Tells A Success Story ; 73 % of outstanding debts paid ; Saves Ghana 26 million dollars of questionable BDCs debts
The Chief Executive Officer of the Oil Bulk Oil Storage Transport (BOST) Mr Edwin Provencal met the Press at the Ministry of Information and told them of the exhilarating turn around story of the then debts- saddled, ill-managed and infamous company that has seen a tremendous transformation from 2017 to date.
According to him, before that time, BOST was so sick that it was almost good for nothing. It owed suppliers a whopping 624 million dollars, 37 million dollars to Bulk Distribution Companies (BDCs) Stanchart Bank Ghc 215,698,902 and GCB Bank Ghc 69,262,035 but happily by the middle of 2021 the company with their internally generated fund has paid 73 % of its debts and is poised to make profit by 2022.
Mr Edwin Provencal disclosed that almost all the revenue generating assets were either underutilized or completely grounded. Some of them had not received maintenance for all that while and were running at a loss on monthly basis.
“When we came to power we contracted EOCO, National Security and our own audit team to do a forensic audit of our debt portfolio and to our amazement and bewilderment , the BDCs upon deliberations agreed that we owed them close to only 11 million USD and not the huge outstanding 37 million dollars on our books. We have paid them 1.2 million dollars with ten million dollars pending. So we have saved the state 26 million dollars” he revealed.
Mr Provencal again told the media that some pipe lines imported from Houston USA in 2011 had been abandoned in the hot weather in that country and BOST had to renegotiate at additional cost 8 million dollars in 2020 to bring the pipelines in in September ending 2021 to fix the deficit to enable the company transport the oil via the pipes to reduce cost of the product. Fuel cost can be reduced by 35 % if it is transported per the pipes lines instead of the oil tankers excorbitant feres. All the depots, pipelines, tanks , pipelines left to rot over the years have all been rehabilitated and BOST is about 85 % operational.
He told the itching Newsmen that the pipelines from Buipe to Bolga are being worked on to cart fuel to the landlocked countries in the Sahelian like it’s done in Singapore that fetches that country millions of dollars and Ghana can leverage on this export trade to rope in more dollars. To address to the delapidating menace, management adopted four main strategies to breathe life into the ailing company : Enhanced Operational Excellence ; Aggressive Growth Policy, Rebranding Strategy and Great Corporate Culture .These and commitment , determination of staff and management has drastically turned the company around within a spate of four years.
Today the picture and story of BOST is an organization with confidence and bright future. As a result ; 624 m dollars has Ben reduced to 39 m dollars ; BDCs debts reduced from 37 m dollars to 11m dollars; shipment of abandoned pipelines coming in this month to complete a project ; Revenue earnings regimes drastically increased from 17 % to 75 % ; Resuming supply of oil to land locked countries up North for revenue ,etc.
Credit :Nana Poku /johnawuniktv@gmail.com
