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A member of the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, Paul Apreku Twum-Barima has refuted the Minority in Parliament’s claims that management of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) has padded the contract sum for an office space for the strategic oil storage company.
He explained that the office space was initially procured at $39 million under the previous administration, but had to be halted in 2017 after allegations of inflated cost.
A value of money audit was subsequently carried out, resulting in a new value of $49.6 million for the office space.
However, BOST could not afford $49.6 million due to financial constraints and thus had to negotiate for a single block at $23.5 million.
The MP said that based on these facts, the Minority’s claim that BOST had inflated the cost of the office space is erroneous.
The MP said the Minority is instead “multiplying the original contract cost of $39 million submitted to the PPA for ratification by 2 to claim the blocks cost $78 million” and described such move as “simply erroneous and mischievous”.
Mr. Twum Barima also called on Ghanaians “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.”
“We at this point will urge 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.
Source: CNR
