The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST), has settled a Ghs 237 million debt owed four (4) banks – GCB Bank, Fidelity Bank, UMB Bank and UBA Bank.
In a press release issued by BOST, the company noted that amount owed was cleared with funds realised from internally-generated funds, the upward adjustment of the BOST margin and an intervention from the government.
BOST also noted that, it had been able to pay $573 million out of the $623 million debt to suppliers and related parties, and successfully vetted and reviewed the $36 million claims from product lost claims from Bulk Distribution Companies (BDCs) to $14.8 million.
“In January 2017, the state of the company was as follows: a debt of $623 million to suppliers and related parties; $36 million claim by BDCs for products lost in the BOST system; decommissioned petroleum barges; non-operational Tema-Akosombo-Petroleum-Product-Pipeline since 2015; non-operational Buipe-Bolgatanga-Petroleum-Product-Pipeline; non-functional Bolgatanga and Maame Water Depots since 2015; old-fashioned pumps and meters across the depots; GH¢237 million debt owed a number of domestic banks; 15 tanks decommissioned out of 51 tanks,” read parts of the release.
“As we speak, thanks to the upward adjustment, continuous government support and the efficient management of BOST, the company now boasts of a functional Bolgatanga depot exporting products to the landlocked countries of the Sahel region; successful repair of nine out of 15 decommissioned tanks; payment of debts to suppliers and related parties down to $50 million; successful vetting of BDCs’ lost product claims of $36 million down to $14.8 million; fully repaired Buipe Bolgatanga Petroleum Product Pipeline; fully repaired Tema Akosombo Petroleum Product Pipeline; 90 per cent completed Bulk Road Vehicle Truck Park in Bolgatanga; outright settlement of debts owed domestic banks; successful repair of all petroleum barges; return to shipping 3.3 million litres of products per trip of the barges from Akosombo to Buipe, which is the equivalent of 62 trucks loading an average of 54,000 litres per truck; cutting down the operational expenses of BOST per year from a humongous GH¢453 million in 2016 to GH¢190 million in 2019 among others,” the release added.
According to the company, the settlement of its debt is indicative of the efficient use of the Ghs 0.03 pesewas increase in the BOST margin.
The company therefore called on the public to eschew claims made by energy think tank, the Institute for Energy Studies (IES) that the company continued to underperform despite the upward adjustment of its margin almost a year ago.
The IES in a recent release, asked for a withdrawal of the Ghs 0.03 pesewas adjustment in the BOST margin, arguing that the upward adjustment in the BOST margin had not been properly justified by BOST and that the company continued to underperform despite the intervention.
But BOST in a response the assertion by the IES noted, “Given the huge investments made in building these over the years, failure on the parts of successive governments to review the margin from 2011 resulted in massive dilapidation and in some instances, decommissioning of some of these strategic assets.”
“The upward adjustment received was a decision in time to stem the tide of dilapidation and bring these assets back to life and into use. The twisted interpretation is, therefore, unfortunate and should be disregarded with the full force of every meaningful appreciation of the need to keep strategic stock of petroleum products for the nation,” BOST explained.
