Abdul Jamil – Chairman of the Senior Staff Union
The Junior Staff and the Senior Staff Unions of Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) say the government is not supporting the company to stabilize the prices of petroleum products in the country.
The executives of the two unions reiterated that it’s only BOST that has adequate infrastructure and human resources in the country to reduce prices of petroleum products.
According to them, the government should pay attention to BOST and ignore those “selfish and greedy people” who have formed a great cartel that has dominated the industry.
Prior to the Easter break, the executives of the two unions, Abdul Jamil, Ekow Sey, Mampaya and Newton Godfred Amoh, spoke on several radio stations mainly in Accra and Kumasi.
They cautioned the government against the activities of a cartel in the petroleum industry, which aim is to protect their selfish interests and make abnormal profits at the expense of ordinary Ghanaians.
They stated, “The great cartel has been in the system for a long time and can only be suppressed if the President, the Vice President, Chief of Staff and the Energy Minister understand the important role that BOST can play to reduce prices of petroleum products in the interest of ordinary consumers in Ghana.”
Although most Ghanaians do not have vehicles, they indirectly pay for the high petroleum prices when they board commercial vehicles.
Mr Mampaya, the chairman of the Junior Staff Union, complained about the wrong advice given to policymakers and other important personalities.
He cautioned, “If the government jokes with our advice, this great cartel which members have made themselves kingmakers, can worry the government in the 2020 election because the ground is being prepared for that.
“What is happening now is that BOST is crippled so petroleum market in the country has been taken over by the great cartel.
“On the contrary, the government is preventing the same cartel from its illegal activities such as fuel dumping, diversion of premix fuel, diversion of marine fuel, adulteration and so on.”
Newton Godfred Amoh, secretary to the Local Union, said most of the members of the great cartel are very rich and can easily influence government officials to act unreasonably.
“Apart from Ghana, there is nothing called BDCs anywhere in the world, but here the BDCs are controlling the affairs to the extent that in 2014 they took the entire nation to ransom,” Mr Amoh remarked.
Ekoy Sey, secretary of the Senior Staff Union, expressed dissatisfaction with the refusal of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Ministry of Finance to waive the single obligor limit on GCB to offer USD $120 million line of credit to BOST to import petroleum products.
He said laws are enacted to make life easy for Ghanaians but the contrary happens in the country.
Mr Abdul Jamil, chairman of the Senior Staff Union, appealed to President Akufo-Addo to continue to repose confidence in the Managing Director of BOST, Alfred Obeng Boateng, because he is hard-working, innovative, competent, adding that he is the most incorruptible MD the company has had in recent years.
“This is the man who has blocked most of the loopholes in the company and has attracted enemies for himself, but has vowed to stand by his plans to turn the fortunes of the company round in order to leave a mark, irrespective of the sabotage and the frustrations,” Mr Abdul Jamil posited.
According to him, “The loopholes that Mr Obeng-led administration has blocked are many and therefore, he and his team deserve commendation and support from the media and the general public to be able to withstand the unnecessary attacks being directed at them.