Unverified reports indicate that Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) has acquired tea machines at a purported cost of GH¢2.3 million.
Allegedly, this procurement was conducted through a single-source method.
According to MyNewsGh.com, the contract reference for this procurement was GR/BOST GD/0007/2022, and it was carried out on July 22, 2022, with the tea machines reportedly delivered on the same date. The procurement was said to involve Rageita Company Limited.
“In a leaked conversation intercepted by MyNewsGh.com, the Managing Director of BOST, Mr. Edwin Provencal, claimed that the machines were needed to provide hot beverages to staff and visitors to BOST offices and its other facilities at that exorbitant cost of Ghc2.3million.
“However, some industry players as well as staff of the company have questioned the need for the machines and the cost of the procurement. They have also expressed concern about the fact that the procurement was done through single sourcing,” the online portal wrote.
This comes less than 48 hours after Bulk Energy Storage and Transportation Limited Company (BOST) refuted claims that it acquired iPhones worth ¢28.541 million for certain essential personnel within the organization.
In an official statement issued by the company, it expressed its astonishment regarding the procurement report circulating on social media platforms.
According to the company, there is “misinformation” about the total cost of 18 pieces of iPhone 13 Pro Max phones purchased in May 2022.
“The total cost of the phones stood at ¢234,000.00 grossed up for taxes at ¢285,412.16. The amount is captured in the financial reports of the company and the Auditor General who audits the company, at least over the past three years, vetted the decision and the value and made no adverse findings about same.”
“The ¢28.541 million in the report may be due to a typographical error of placing the dot(.) two steps to the right which on the face of the document converted the ¢285,412.61 to ¢28.541 million,” the statement read.
BOST noted that the devices were purchased to equip the team to stay in touch with the management information and business intelligence systems of the company for efficient decision making.
“In the petroleum storage and transportation space, a split second can make the difference between success and failure”, the statement added.
For the company “the results so far attest to the efficiency of the systems put in place which includes the access points for key members of the team to access processed information for efficient decision making.”