Contaminated fuel saga: Committee report reveals it was not sold to the market - BOST MD

The Managing Director of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST), George Mensah Okley, has disclosed that the controversial contaminated or off-spec products which were sold by his predecessor did not find their way on the market as it was alleged.

Mr. George Mensah Okley made the revelation at the 'Meet The Press' series at the Ministry of Information on Tuesday, February 5, 2019.

It would be recalled that the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), during the latter part of 2018, alleged that some 600,000 litres of contaminated fuel at Zup Oil had disappeared.

Executive Director of COPEC Mr. Duncan Amoah, in a tirade of attack on BOST, alleged that the products had been brought onto the market and cautioned Ghanaians to be mindful of the fuel they bought.

BOST was rife in the news in June 2017 for causing the country to lose some GHc7 million in revenue for allegedly selling some five million litres of contaminated fuel at a cheap price to some two unlicensed companies [at the time] namely, Movenpinaa and Zup Oil, set up days before the sale.

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) confirmed that the two companies were not licensed.

There were calls for the then BOST MD, Alfred Obeng Boateng, to be interdicted. However, he was cleared for no wrongdoing by the Ministry of Energy.

Fast forward to 2018, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), again, accused the then MD, Alfred Obeng Boateng, of financial malfeasance.

COPEC, in April 2018, claimed Ghana lost about GHc23 million in revenue when 1.8 million barrels of crude oil was sold at a discount to an unlicensed company.

Alfred Obeng Boateng slammed the accusations, describing them as baseless. Nonetheless, COPEC petitioned the Special Prosecutor to investigate the allegations.

Mr. Obeng was subsequently sacked by the President and named George Mensah Oakley as the new MD.

Responding to a question posed to him by Oman FM’s Michael Creg Afful, the Managing Director of BOST refuted the claims that the off-spec products were sold onto the market.

According to him, a committee that was chaired by the CEO of Chamber of Bulk Oil Distribution Companies (CBOD), Senyo Hosi, to investigate the issue established the fact that the products were not sold onto the market.

“The off-spec products were not sold onto the market as it was reported when it was happening,” he stressed.

He stated that the committee recommended that the products be delivered to the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to be refined.

Mr. George Mensah Okley noted that management had already paid the refined charges and are only waiting for the products to be evacuated to TOR.