Bulk Energy Storage and Transportation Limited Company (BOST) has addressed the controversy surrounding its purchase of 18 iPhones in May 2022. Reports about this transaction had gained widespread attention in the media.
In a statement released on September 30, 2023, BOST confirmed that they did indeed acquire 18 iPhones but disputed the widely circulated figure of over 28.5 million cedis as inaccurate and misleading. According to BOST, the actual amount paid was 234,000 cedis, which, after taxes, amounted to GHC285,412.00. This meant each iPhone was purchased at a price of approximately 15,800 cedis.
BOST emphasized that the purchase had undergone the necessary tender processes and had received approval through official audit reports, affirming its transparency. The Auditor General had reportedly reviewed and found no adverse findings regarding this expenditure over the past three years.
Furthermore, BOST clarified that the iPhones were acquired to enhance their team’s connectivity with management information and business intelligence systems, crucial for swift decision-making in the petroleum storage and transportation sector. They highlighted the importance of rapid decision-making in this industry and credited their efficiency to the access points provided to key team members for accessing processed information.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RE: BOST BUYS EIGHTEEN (18) IPHONES AT TWENTY-EIGHT MILLION GHANACEDIS (GHS28 MILLION)
Accra-September 30, 2023-The Bulk Energy Storage and Transportation Limited Company has noted with dismay a section of a procurement report making rounds in the traditional and social media space claiming the company bought 18 iPhones at a cost of Twenty-Eight Million, Five Hundred and Forty-One Thousand, Two Hundred and Sixty-One Ghana Cedis (GHS28,541,261.00) for some critical officers of the company.
We would like to respond to the misinformation as follows:
1. The company bought eighteen (18) pieces of iPhone 13 Pro Max phones for our corporate executives in May 2022.
2. The total cost of the phones stood at Two Hundred and Thirty-Four Thousand Ghana Cedis (234,000.00) grossed up for taxes at Two Hundred and Eighty-Five Thousand, Four Hundred and Twelve Ghana Cedis, Sixteen Pesewas (GHS285,412.16).
3. 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.
4. The reason for the purchase of the devices was 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 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.
5. The Twenty-Eight Million, Five Hundred and Forty-One Thousand, Two Hundred and Sixty-One Ghana Cedis (GHS28,541,261.00) 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 GHS285,412.61 to GHS28,541,261.00
6. The public is hereby entreated to ignore the claim that the company bought eighteen (18) phones at 28 million. It is both erroneous and mischievous.
7. The information is available on the website of the Public Procurement Authority through the link below https://tenders.ppa.gov.gh/contracts/12301
8. We would urge our stakeholders who stumble upon bits and pieces of information on the company to reach out to the Corporate Communications Department for any clarification before proceeding to make such statements which in the end could amount to misleading the public. This is unpardonable in a right to information regime where Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, are by law required to provide information stakeholders may require for their purposes.
9. May God bless our homeland Ghana
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