We bought iPhones for our Board Members to make them stay in touch with the management information – BOST

The Bulk Energy Storage and Transportation Limited Company (BOST) has clarified how much it paid for 18 iPhones in May 2022.

Details of the said transaction had purportedly gone viral in sections of the media.

BOST in a statement dated September 30, 2023, confirmed buying the number of iPhones but clarified that the figure in the trending document was far less than what was actually paid.

The quoted amount of over 28.5 million cedis it said was “both erroneous and mischievous” but rather that the correct sum was 234,000 cedis, which amount went up to GHC285,412.00 after taxes were paid.

The total amount means each unit of the phone was bought at a price of over 15,800 cedis.

It said the amount went through the necessary tender processes and the purchase has since been approved as above board in official audit reports.

“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 statement added.

It also clarified the reasons for which the specific quality and brand of phones were bought, among others;

“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,” it added.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RE: BOST BUYS EIGHTEEN (18) iPhones AT TWENTY-EIGHT MILLION GHANA CEDIS (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 include 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

Source: BBC