Bulk Oil Distributors have dismissed government’s statement that the local companies were given the opportunity to bid for the BOST contract but failed to take advantage of it.

 Information and Media Relations Minister, Mahama Ayariga has justified the decision by the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company to outsource the management of its petroleum storage facilities within the Accra Plains Depot to TSL Logistics Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of a Nigerian Company. According to him, the local companies just didn’t take advantage of the opportunity.

“According to management they wrote to eight (8) companies in both Ghana and Nigeria that they believe could do this particular job and five (5) didn’t respond whilst two (2) asked for extension of time and only TSL put up a proposal for the contract following which they went through the processes and finally entered into the contract. So they were all given the opportunity from the report that I received and none of them responded and I am sure the management of BOST would come out very soon with the details. But for now I can assure you that they were given the opportunity according to the reports I received but they probably were not interested and therefore did not offer to do it” Mr. Ayariga noted on JOY FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday. 

But the CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, Senyo Hosi told JOY BUSINESS, government has been misinformed.

“I have a lot of respect for honourable Ayariga and as a Media Relations and Information Minister, the least he could do is to verify his information. We’re very available and accessible and if there is something he needs to know, to authenticate his information, he should just do so. The fact that somebody tells you something doesn’t mean it is true [for him to] propagate it with authority, that’s wrong.

“It is absolutely false … I think it’s just shameful that this information is coming out this way. It is wrong and untrue,” he said.

“The other thing we also need to understand is that, according to the Act, anybody that manages any storage facility is required to run it with open access without any discrimination whatsoever. So there is no way a Bulk Distribution Company having the authority to manage a terminal would necessarily disadvantage the other. In any case you’re aware the companies have come together to form a consortium to offer solution to this,” Mr Hosi added.

“Another thing we would want to ask or to stop - probably starting with the minister is Nobody should try and politicise this issue by making reference to relevant past decisions on BOST by other governments. Yes, Sahara Oil was contracted by the previous government. But that didn’t make it right and even then in 2008, BDC’s didn’t have  that much capacity as only a few of them had facilities and competence to run terminals,” he concluded.